War in Ukraine: 4.1 million refugees, more than one in two children displaced

The sad exodus continues.

More than 4.1 million Ukrainian refugees have fled their country since the invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, according to figures from the High Commission for Refugees.

The High Commissioner for Refugees listed exactly 4,137,842 Ukrainian refugees on Saturday at midday.

These are 34,966 more than during the previous tally on Friday.

Europe has not seen such an influx of refugees since the Second World War.

Some 90% of those who have fled Ukraine are women and children, the Ukrainian authorities not allowing the departure of men of military age.

The UN's International Organization for Migration said around 205,500 non-Ukrainians had also fled the country and were sometimes having difficulty returning to their country of origin.

The UN estimates the number of internally displaced persons at almost 6.5 million.

More than half of the country's children displaced or refugees

In total, therefore, more than ten million people, more than a quarter of the population, have had to leave their homes either by crossing the border to find refuge in neighboring countries, or by finding refuge elsewhere in Ukraine.

Before this conflict, Ukraine was populated by more than 37 million people in the territories controlled by kyiv - which therefore does not include the Crimea (South) annexed in 2014 by Russia, nor the eastern areas under the control of pro-Russian separatists since the same year.

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According to UNICEF, more than half of the country's 7.5 million children are either internally displaced or refugees.

Poland alone hosts more than half of all refugees who have left Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.

Nearly six out of 10 Ukrainian refugees have entered Poland, more than 2.4 million people.

According to the UN refugee agency, 629,917 people have traveled to Romania as of March 31.

In Moldova, a small country of 2.6 million inhabitants, the European Commission is encouraging Ukrainian refugees to continue their journey to settle in an EU country better able to bear the financial burden.

According to the UNHCR, 391,592 people entered Moldova.

At least 30,000 refugees passed through France

Most continued on their way, especially to Romania.

The World Food Program has, however, started distributing financial aid to 100,000 refugees and their host families in the country to help ease the shock for one of Europe's poorest countries.

Hungary has received 379,988 Ukrainians as of March 31, according to the UNHCR.

A total of 294,885 people have arrived in Slovakia since the start of the war, according to the UNHCR.

But also 350,000 in Russia.

Finally, in France, where the Ministry of the Interior expects to welcome 100,000 people fleeing the war, the Minister Delegate in charge of Housing, Emmanuelle Wargon indicated last Sunday that the government "estimated at approximately 30,000 the number of people from Ukraine who have returned to France".

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Not all of them stay on the territory, however: “Of these 30,000, some stay in France, and some cross the country, rather towards Spain and Portugal”, she specified.

Before adding: “Today, we welcome in housing and accommodation around 15,000 people”.

Faced with the saturation of accommodation centers in Île-de-France, the SOS group aims to distribute Ukrainian refugees to the provinces.

More than 600 companies have manifested themselves on the government platform dedicated to the reception of displaced Ukrainians with "7,000 job offers", said Friday the Minister of Labor, Elisabeth Borne.