MORE than 1.7 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, according to the latest data from the United Nations today.

1,735,068 refugees
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, recorded 1,735,068 refugees on its dedicated website, just over 200,000 more than the previous count yesterday.

Unicef, the UN children’s agency, believes half of them are youngsters.

Authorities and the UN expect the flow to intensify as the Russian army advances deeper into Ukraine, particularly as it approaches the capital, Kyiv.

More than 37 million people lived under the Kyiv government’s control before last week’s invasion.

“The military offensive in Ukraine has caused destruction of civilian infrastructure and civilian casualties and has forced people to flee their homes seeking safety, protection and assistance,” UNHCR says.

The agency projects that as the conflict unfolds, “an estimated four million people may flee Ukraine”, noting that many people were also displaced from their homes within the country.

Here is a breakdown of where the people who fled across Ukraine’s borders now find themselves, according to the UN Refugee Agency:

Poland
Six in 10 of those who have fled Ukraine are now in Poland. The UNCHR’s figures published today say 1,027,603 refugees are now in Ukraine’s biggest western neighbour.

The number swelled by 142,300 in 24 hours.

Polish border guards yesterday said the total figure represented “a million human tragedies”.

Poland has championed the cause of Ukrainian refugees. The government has set up reception centres and charities have mobilised in a massive aid effort, helped by the estimated 1.5 million Ukrainians already living in the EU member state.

Hungary
Some 180,000 refugees are now in Hungary, 10% of the total who have fled Ukraine. The number was up 11,110 in yesterday’s figure.

The country has five border crossings with Ukraine and several border towns, including Zahony, have turned public buildings into relief centres, where Hungarian civilians are offering food or assistance. 

Slovakia
Across Ukraine’s shortest border, some 128,169 refugees are now in Slovakia, around 7% of the total.

Moldova
It is reported that 82,000 refugees are now in Moldova, though many thousands more have passed through the non-EU state on their way to other countries, hence the number is down 1,305 since yesterday..

According to the UNHCR, many refugees are continuing on to Romania or Hungary, often to reunite with family.

Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita said Sunday that more than 230,000 people have crossed the border from Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Moldova on Sunday and Gavrilita urged Washington to provide more humanitarian aid to help her country of 2.6 million, one of Europe’s poorest, cope with the influx.

Romania
Nearly 79,000 refugees from Ukraine are now in Romania.

Two camps have been set up, one in Sighetu Marmatiei and the other in Siret.

Elsewhere in Europe
UNHCR said that 183,688 people, having crossed Ukraine’s borders into neighbouring nations, have now moved on to other European countries.

Russia
UNHCR’s latest figure for the number of refugees who have crossed Ukraine’s longest border into Russia since the invasion, compiled up to the end of Thursday, is 53,000.

UNHCR notes that an additional 96,000 people moved to Russia from the separatist eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions between February 18 and 23, in the days before the Russian invasion.

Belarus
Some 400 refugees had made it to Belarus, according to the latest UNHCR tally for the country, compiled up to the end of Friday.

Ukrainian children wrapped in space blankets given by volunteers eat some food at the border with Poland in the border crossing of Zosin-Ustyluh, western Ukraine on March 6, 2022. – AFP pic, March 7, 2022.