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Nearly 5 million Ukrainian refugees have scattered all across Europe following Russia’s invasion of the country in late February.
A total of 4,904,207 Ukrainian refugees have been recorded in the continent as of Thursday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) said.
Poland recorded the largest number of refugees at 1,152,364, while Russia was second with 1,136,243.
They were followed by Ukraine’s other neighbors, Romania, 89,784; the Republic of Moldova, 86,254; Slovakia, 77,330; Hungary, 24,091; and Belarus, 8,027.
Among all the refugees, 3,206,642 registered for the European Union’s (EU) Temporary Protection Directive or similar national protection schemes in non-member states, according to the UNCHR.
“The outpouring of solidarity in States receiving refugees remains extraordinary. European Union Member States have taken unprecedented measures, rapidly activating the Temporary Protection Directive for the first time, ensuring access to protection and services for refugees from Ukraine. Other European States have extended similar protection schemes,” the agency said in a statement.
EU countries are obliged to provide refugees with temporary protection, residency rights, access to housing, social welfare assistance, and access to employment and medical care, among other things.
While the security situation in Ukraine remained “fragile,” people were still being recorded coming back to the country after crossing, the UNCHR noted.
A total of 7,363,623 border crossings got reported in Ukraine between the start of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24 and Thursday. In the same period, 2,387,834 border crossings to Ukraine were also recorded.
“Many who have moved back have found their homes severely damaged and struggled to find jobs — as the war continues to have a devastating economic impact — and had no choice but to leave again,” the UNCHR said.
The American government provides a pathway for Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members outside of the United States to come to the country and stay temporarily for two years of parole under its Uniting for Ukraine program (U4U).
Participants of the program must have support in the U.S., providing them with financial assistance for the duration of their stay in the country, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Around 9,000 U4U parolees have arrived in the United States, while 51,000 supporter applications for the program have been received as of Thursday, Forbes reported.
People board a bus as refugees from southeastern Ukraine, who are preparing to travel to the Palanca checkpoint to cross into Moldova en route to Germany, gather in Odesa, Ukraine, May 3, 2022.
Photo: Reuters / STRINGER
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