Number of refugees fleeing conflict-ridden Ukraine reaches 2 million, says UN
Mar 08, 2022
New York [US], March 8 : Filippo Grandi, head of the UN's refugee agency on Tuesday (local time), said that the number of people fleeing Ukraine has now reached 2 million.
He also warned the second wave of refugees is likely to be more vulnerable than the first. "If the war continues we will start seeing people that have no resources and no connections," he said at a press conference in Oslo.
"That will be a more complex situation to manage for European countries going forward," he said adding that "even more solidarity" will be needed in Europe and beyond.
On Sunday, the UN refugee agency commissioner Filippo Grandi said more than 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine had crossed into neighbouring countries in 10 days, describing the situation as "the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II."
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell earlier said the European Union should be ready for five million people fleeing Ukraine amid ongoing conflict with Russia.
On February 24, Russia launched a special operation in Ukraine in response to calls from the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics to defend themselves against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.
