The number of Ukrainians who have fled the country since Russia launched its invasion almost five weeks ago has surged past 4 million, a figure equivalent to one-tenth of the former Soviet republic’s prewar population.
More than half of the country’s war refugees have fled to Poland, which is host to 2.3 million, according data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The vast majority have sought shelter in the European Union, with border states Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia shouldering most of the burden. Just over 350,000 have fled to Russia.
With the Ukrainian government preventing fighting-age men between 18 and 60 from leaving the country, the majority of refugees has been women and children. In a contrast with Europe’s refugee crisis in 2015 and 2016, when several eastern European governments refused to take in any majority-Muslim asylum seekers, Ukrainians fleeing Vladimir Putin’s invasion have largely been welcome.
In addition to those who have left the country, the number of internally displaced Ukrainians escaping from combat zones in the north and south — where the port city of Mariupol has been devastated by a weeks-long siege — has amounted to more than 10 million. Kyiv, a city of almost 3 million inhabitants, has also seen an exodus as Russian forces struggle to surround the capital.
Cities in western Ukraine, especially Lviv, have seen an influx. Many still plan to head west across the border. EU member states, most of which belong to the visa-free Schengen travel area, have eased travel restrictions for Ukrainians, making it easier for refugees to move. More far-flung nations have also offered shelter, including the U.S., which has said it’ll take in up to 100,000.
