Number of refugees from Ukraine rises above 2.5M: UN

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine since Russia launched a war on its neighbor has crossed 2.5 million, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.

“The UN estimates that there are now at least 2 million internally displaced people,” in Ukraine, UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh said at a press conference at Ukraine’s border with Poland.

“The total number of refugees has just past 2.5 million ... an unpreceded flow of people in Europe, certainly the most since the Second World War.”

UNHCR said that some of the refugees face the danger of landmines while fleeing.

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell said her office has confirmed the deaths of 549 civilians and more than 9,000 injured since the war began, “although the actual figure is much higher.”

“Civilians are being killed in what appears to be indiscriminate attacks,” said Throssell.

The World Health Organization said at the press conference that there have been 26 attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine.

Russia's war against Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.