New Delhi: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Thursday informed that one million people have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion.
According to The Associated Press (AP), the tally from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees amounts to over two per cent of Ukraine's population as the World Bank counted it at 44 million at the end of 2020.
ALSO READ | Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Russian Forces Capture Ukrainian Port City Kherson, Local Officials Confirm
The UN refugee agency cautioned that the exodus is far from finished as it predicted that as many as 4 million people could eventually leave Ukraine. The projection could be revised upward, the agency stated as reported by AP.
On Twitter, UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi wrote: "In just seven days we have witnessed the exodus of one million refugees from Ukraine to neighbouring countries. For many millions more, inside Ukraine, it’s time for guns to fall silent, so that life-saving humanitarian assistance can be provided.
Russia is yet to overthrow the government in Kyiv, however, thousands are reported to have died or injured in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to UNHCR figures, Syria is currently the country with the largest refugee outflows at more than 5.6 million people, following the civil war that erupted in 2011. However, even at the swiftest rate of outflows, it took at least three months for 1 million refugees to leave Syria in early 2013.
Seeing the current exodus, UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo on Wednesday said that Ukraine could report the biggest refugee crisis this century, AP reported.
Notably, Russia and Ukraine are expected to hold the second round of negotiations in Belarus on Thursday amid the raging conflict.
(With Agency Inputs)
UKRAINE-RUSSIA CONFLICT: FULL COVERAGE