10M people forced from homes in Ukraine war: UN

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) – Russia’s war on Ukraine has driven 10 million people from their homes, the head of the UN refugee agency said on Sunday.

“The war in Ukraine is so devastating that 10 million have fled – either displaced inside the country, or as refugees abroad,” Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, wrote on Twitter.

“Among the responsibilities of those who wage war, everywhere in the world, is the suffering inflicted on civilians who are forced to flee their homes.”

According to UN data, almost 3.4 million refugees have left Ukraine since the war began on Feb. 24, with more than 2 million taken in by neighboring Poland, close to 530,000 by Romania and over 362,000 by Moldova.

Some 6.5 million are estimated to be internally displaced in the country.

The hostilities have claimed the lives of at least 847 civilians and left some 1,400 injured in Ukraine, the UN has said, while stressing that the real figures are likely to be much higher as conditions on the ground make verification difficult.