Ukraine crisis: Refugee surge to hit 1mn soon, says UN

Geneva, March 2

The UN refugee agency says more than 8,74,000 people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion last week and the figure is “rising exponentially,” putting it on track to cross the one-million mark possibly within hours.

UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said on Wednesday that people are continuing to stream into Ukraine's neighbouring countries to the west, with more than 200,000 fleeing since Tuesday.

A day earlier, Mantoo had cautioned that the outflows from Ukraine could make it the source of the “biggest refugee crisis this century”. She noted that the UNHCR had previously projected that as many as 4 million people might flee Ukraine, but noted that the agency will be re-evaluating its forecast. — AP

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