The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees expected today, Saturday, that about 4 million Ukrainians may become displaced and refugees while trying to flee the armed conflict, after Russia launched a military offensive on their country.
According to Kelly Clements, Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, told CNN, while she was in the Swiss capital (Geneva), the ongoing war in Ukraine is forcing people "to make life-or-death decisions."
On Saturday morning, Clements said that 850,000 people have been internally displaced, while more than 120,000 people have fled Ukraine.
According to the same spokeswoman, a number of border crossings are witnessing queues of Ukrainians waiting to cross the border, while others are satisfied with observing the situation, noting that a large number will follow the refugees who have already crossed the border.
Estimates and concerns
And according to what CNN quoted Clements as saying, more than 120,000 people have taken refuge in neighboring countries, and they have received a wonderful reception from communities and local authorities.
Clements explained that these estimates issued by the United Nations are in addition to those who have been displaced inside Ukraine, whose number is estimated at 850,000, during the past 8 years due to the conflict in Donbass.
Clements noted that the number of people fleeing the armed conflict in Ukraine has doubled in the past 24 hours.
The UN official considered that the situation on the ground is dynamic, and they are worried about what will come, and she expected that the number of those who will be forced by the war to leave their homes will reach about 4 million people, if things continue to deteriorate, which is what happened so far.
attack and asylum
This comes at a time when the Romanian government announced the arrival of more than 14,000 Ukrainian refugees to its territory since the start of the military operations.
And Paul Svernaker, Deputy Minister of the Interior of Poland, announced earlier today, Saturday, that 100,000 Ukrainians have crossed the Polish border since the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine.
"Since the start of military operations in Ukraine, 100,000 people have crossed the border from Ukraine into Poland," Svernaker told reporters, who met him in the border village of Medica.
He added that 90% of the refugees had physical places to go in Poland, such as the homes of friends or family members, but the rest went to 9 reception centers set up along the border.
care and appreciation
These centers provide meals, medical care, a place to rest and necessary information.
At the same press conference, the head of the Polish border guard unit Tomasz Braga said that on Friday alone, nearly 50,000 people crossed from Ukraine into Poland.
And Poland, which had 1.5 million Ukrainians residing on its territory before the Russian invasion and expressed unwavering support for Ukraine, received most of the fleeing Ukrainians.
And the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees wrote, in a tweet today, Saturday, that "the latest figures indicate that approximately 116,000 people have fled to neighboring countries since February 24, especially to Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania," and added that "the numbers are rising."