Nearly 400,000 civilians, mostly women and children, have fled to neighboring countries, a United Nations aid agency has reported, amid downfalls of missiles and continuing fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, citing data provided by national authorities, said that more than 380,000 refugees, the majority of them women and children, have fled the war in Ukraine to neighboring countries, and that the numbers continue to rise.
For his part, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that saving civilians and infrastructure in Ukraine is more urgent than ever.
A major humanitarian crisis
On the other hand, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, said that Europe is facing its largest humanitarian crisis in many years after the Russian war on Ukraine, and the number of Ukrainians displaced by the conflict may reach more than 7 million.
"We are witnessing what could be the biggest humanitarian crisis on our European continent in many years," Lenarcic said. "The needs are growing as we speak."
"As for the humanitarian situation in general, the currently expected number of Ukrainians displaced is more than 7 million," he added during a press conference in Brussels after an extraordinary meeting of the interior ministers of EU member states to discuss the crisis.
Previous US forecasts indicated that the number of refugees as a result of the war in Ukraine could reach 5 million people if the conflict continues.
For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced $54 million in new humanitarian aid for war-affected Ukrainians, in addition to the $350 million the United States sent last week.
"This includes the provision of food, safe drinking water, shelter, emergency health care, subsistence and protection supplies," Blinken said in a statement.
French draft resolution at the United Nations
In the same context, France will present Monday to the UN Security Council a draft resolution "to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to respond to the needs of the population in Ukraine," the Elysee Palace announced on Sunday evening.
"In addition to urgent humanitarian action, France will call for a ceasefire that must precede any peace talks," the statement said.
And on Sunday evening, the French presidency reported that Macron had held telephone conversations throughout the weekend with international leaders, who stressed the need to work on "the delivery of humanitarian aid to Ukraine."