More than four million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its war, in the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War, according to the UN refugee agency. The new figure was posted on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) website.
More than 2.3 million have arrived in Poland, but many have travelled on to other countries or back into Ukraine. Aid workers say the numbers have eased in recent days as many people await developments in the war.
An estimated 6.5 million people have also been displaced from their homes within the country. More than 608,000 have entered Romania, over 387,000 have gone to Moldova, and about 364,000 have entered Hungary since the war began on February 24, based on counts provided by governments.
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From the onset of the war, UNHCR had projected that about four million might flee Ukraine, though it has repeatedly said it has been reassessing its forecasts. “Refugees from Ukraine are now 4 million, five weeks after the start of the Russian attack,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi tweeted as he crossed the border into Ukraine.
Mr Grandi said he would be in the western city of Lviv to discuss ways to increase support “to people affected and displaced by this senseless war”. UNHCR teams and their partners have been working to deliver protection, emergency shelter, cash assistance, core relief items and other critical services for those who have fled.
Meanwhile, at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday (30 March), Boris Johnson could not give the total number of Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in the UK via the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Tory MP Sir Roger Gale asked Mr Johnson to tell the Commons how many people have actually arrived in the UK 'to date' through the Homes for Ukraine scheme, the PM could not give a straight answer.
Instead, he said that the government 'is processing 1,000 visas a day' and that '25,000 visas have already been issued.' While he spoke, shouts of 'how many people?' could be heard from the opposition benches. Mr Johnson went on: 'Almost 200,000 families' homes have opened their arms to Ukrainian's, coming in fear of their lives.' He added that there is no limit on the scheme and that 'we can be incredibly proud' of what the UK is doing.
Meanwhile Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said that 'paperwork is being put ahead of people,' with one elderly couple on the Polish border with Ukraine being told it was 'just too complicated' to come to the UK.
Launched on 14 March, the government said the scheme allows Ukrainian refugees to be brought to safety in the UK - including those with no family ties to the nation.
