Refugees fleeing war in Ukraine projected to exceed 8M by year end: UN

GENEVA – The UN refugee agency has projected that the number of people fleeing the war in Ukraine will soar to 8.3 million by the end of this year.

“The rapidity with which people are fleeing, we have not seen in recent times,” UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said.

Mantoo said the number of internally displaced people in Ukraine currently stands at around 7.7 million, in addition to over 5.2 million fleeing to other countries.

Jens Laerke, Geneva spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the estimated number of people in need of humanitarian aid has increased from 12 million to 15.7 million.

“Food is a primary need for those internally displaced” in Ukraine, according to International Organization for Migration spokesman Paul Dillon.

Meanwhile, the UN human rights office announced that at least 2,729 civilians have been killed and 3,111 injured since Russia launched a war on Ukraine on February 24, with the true figure feared to be much higher.

– Attacks on healthcare facilities

Bhanu Bhatnagar, a spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO) said there have been a total of 164 attacks on health care, in which 73 people had been killed and 52 injured.

“We continue to condemn all attacks on health care,” said Bhatnagar.

The WHO official said the status of the health system in many parts of eastern Ukraine remains unclear, including the besieged city of Mariupol, to which Russian forces are preventing access and have claimed to have captured.

“And we continue to demand entry to Mariupol, so we can get in vital supplies,” said Bhatnagar.

Senior EU officials have called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to ensure safe corridors remain open for civilian evacuation.