Europe
8 million people have fled Ukraine – UN aid chief
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths on Tuesday said nearly eight million people have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict almost a year ago.
According to Griffiths, almost eight million people fled from Ukraine to neighbouring countries, while another 5.3 million are internally displaced.
The Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that 17.6 million people, or almost 40 per cent of Ukraine’s population, need humanitarian assistance.
Griffiths said he intended to present this year’s Humanitarian Response Plan for Ukraine, which requires some 3.9 billion dollars, in Geneva later this month.
“This violence shows no sign of abating,” he said.
According to UN official figures more than 7,000 civilians have been killed since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
“The actual toll is certainly higher,” Griffiths said.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, Russia’s war with Ukraine has led to the largest refugee movement since the Second World War.