More than 4.9 million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began, around 90 percent of them women and children, according to figures released Monday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
UNHCR accurately named 4,934,415 Ukrainian refugees, 65,396 more than the latest count released Sunday.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 215,000 nonUkrainians also fled the country and some had difficulties returning to their country of origin.
These thirdcountry nationals who have fled Ukraine and do not have Ukrainian citizenship or the country they entered are mainly students and migrant workers.
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Europe has not had such a large influx of refugees since World War II.
About 90% of those who have fled Ukraine are women and children, and the Ukrainian authorities do not allow men between the ages of 18 and 60, who are of military age, to leave the country.
The IOM also estimates the number of internally displaced persons at 7.1 million people.
“For the majority of women and children, refugees from Ukraine face an increased risk of sexual exploitation, rape and human trafficking,” UNHCR warned.
In all, more than 12 million people have had to leave their homes and cross the border to reach neighboring countries or seek refuge elsewhere in Ukraine.
Almost twothirds of Ukraine’s children have been evicted from their homes, including those still in the country.
Before the conflict, more than 37 million people lived in Ukraine in the Kyivcontrolled areas, ie excluding Crimea in the south, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, or the eastern areas, which have been controlled by proRussian separatists since the same year .
Poland is the country that has taken in the most refugees so far, having already taken in almost 2.8 million, or six out of ten, and many have moved on to other countries.
UNHCR also announced that to date, 743,880 Ukrainian refugees have left their country for Romania, mostly arriving via Moldova before moving on to other countries.
The number of Ukrainian refugees in Russia is estimated at 522,404, and between February 18 and 23, 105,000 people crossed the proRussian separatist regions of Donetsk and Lugansk towards the invasion country.
Hungary (461,539), Moldova (423,852), Slovakia (337,311) and Belarus (23,469) were also destination countries for Ukrainian refugees.
The European Commission has encouraged Ukrainian refugees to settle in an EU country able to bear the financial burden.
Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine on February 24 that has killed nearly 2,000 civilians, according to the UN, which warns the real number is likely to be much higher.
The war has caused more than 11 million people to flee their homes, including more than 5 million to neighboring countries.
The Russian invasion was generally condemned by the international community, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and tightening economic and political sanctions against Moscow.