More than three million people have now fled Ukraine since Vladimir Putin’s war began, according to the United Nations.
Figures from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), mainly comprised of border agency data, showed that at least 3,000,381 people had left the country in the 20 days since Russia’s invasion of its sovereign neighbour began.
In the first days of the war, refugee agencies warned they were bracing for as many as 4 million people to leave Ukraine. But this figure is likely to be revised upwards – with western officials warning last week that this grim forecast could be realised within days.
The exodus seen in Ukraine is the largest in Europe since the Second World War, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said on Saturday.
But western officials have warned that “these are unprecedented movements of people in Europe, or indeed probably anywhere else in the world”.
Recommended Ukraine news – live: Kyiv rejects proposed neutrality in peace talks Why has Russia invaded Ukraine? The conflict explained Sign The Independent’s petition to help the people of Ukraine
According to the UN Human Rights Council, the Syrian civil war – the world’s largest refugee crisis for decades – has left 6.6 million people scattered across the globe, many of them housed in neighbouring countries, and left 13.4 million people in need of humanitarian and protection assistance in Syria.
Following a UNHCR briefing, western officials said last week that some refugees fleeing Ukraine were turning up with frostbite due to the cold weather, while some coming from areas that have been targeted and bombed by Russia were “traumatised” and in need of mental healthcare.
“The first wave of refugees were very quickly moving on because these were people with resources, they had contacts elsewhere, so they came and they moved,” one official told reporters. “In the second wave we were starting to see these people who are very traumatised, they left without any resources, they are very vulnerable and they need more direct support.”
Many have fled to neighbouring Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania, while some 300,000 people are estimated to have moved onwards to western European countries.
World news in pictures Show all 50
1/50World news in pictures
World news in pictures 16 March 2022 The moon sets behind a statue of William Penn atop of City Hall in Philadelphia
AP
World news in pictures 15 March 2022 Indian widows participate in the Holi festival in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India
EPA
World news in pictures 14 March 2022 A farmer works at a poppy field in the Zhari district of Kandahar
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 13 March 2022 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shakes hands with an injured man during a visit at a military hospital following fightings in the Kyiv region
Getty
World news in pictures 12 March 2022 'Choke on it !!!' says the slogan of a carnival float showing a depiction of Russian President Putin as he swallows an object in the form and national colors of Ukraine
EPA
World news in pictures 11 March 2022 A young man kisses goodbye his girlfriend at Kyiv Main Railway Station as she tries to flee from Kyiv, Ukraine
EPA
World news in pictures 10 March 2022 The pack rides during the 5th stage of the 80th Paris - Nice cycling race
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 9 March 2022 Houses inundated with floodwaters from an overflowing Hawkesbury River are pictured in the Windsor suburb of Sydney
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 8 March 2022 People shelter from fireworks before the traditional "torito" (little bull) made of paper, wood and fireworks during celebrations of San Juan de Dios in Tultepec on the outskirts of Mexico City
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 7 March 2022 People cross the destroyed bridge as they flee from the frontline town of Irpin, Kyiv region, Ukraine
EPA
World news in pictures 6 March 2022 A local resident reacts as a house is on fire after heavy shelling on the only escape route used by locals to leave the town of Irpin, while Russian troops advance towards the capital, 24km from Kyiv, Ukraine
Reuters
World news in pictures 5 March 2022 Austria’s Roman Rabl competing in the men’s downhil sitting para alpine skiing during the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Yanqing
OIS/IOC/AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 4 March 2022 People remove personal belongings from a burning house after being shelled in the city of Irpin, outside Kyiv
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 3 March 2022 An aerial view shows a residential building destroyed by shelling, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region
Reuters
World news in pictures 2 March 2022 A man with his newborn child takes shelter in the basement of a perinatal centre as air raid siren sounds are heard amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv
Reuters
World news in pictures 1 March 2022 Members of an Ukrainian civil defense unit pass new assault rifles to the opposite side of a blown up bridge on Kyiv’s northern front
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 28 February 2022 Members of the Ukrainian community of Rome collect basic necessities to be distributed to the Ukrainian population, at the church of Santa Sofia in Rome, Italy
EPA
World news in pictures 27 February 2022 Protesters crowd around the victory column and close to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to demonstrate for peace in Ukraine
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 26 February 2022 The Swiss Air Force fly in front of the Weisshorn mountain in the Swiss Alps prior to the start of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Crans-Montana, Switzerland
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 25 February 2022 A Ukrainian firefighter walks between at fragments of a downed aircraft seen in in Kyiv
AP
World news in pictures 24 February 2022 Firefighters work on a building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv. Russian armed forces are trying to invade Ukraine from several directions, using rocket systems and helicopters to attack Ukrainian position in the south, the border guard service said
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 23 February 2022 A woman wearing a face mask walks next to decorations at a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand
EPA
World news in pictures 22 February 2022 Anganwadi workers take part in a protest march near Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, demanding better facilities and working conditions for women
AFP/ Getty
World news in pictures 21 February 2022 An elderly woman stands in a street of the city of Avdiivka, eastern Ukraine
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 20 February 2022 High waves in Doolin in County Clare on the west coast of Ireland
PA
World news in pictures 19 February 2022 Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China in action in Beijing, China
Reuters
World news in pictures 17 February 2021 A part of a damaged wall crashes onto the pavement during a storm in Berlin, Germany
AP
World news in pictures 16 February 2022 Syrian firefighters extinguish fire following artillery shelling by the Syrian regime on a fuel depot affiliated to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group in the northwestern rebel-held town of Dana
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 15 February 2022 Austria's Cornelia Huetter competes in the womens downhill final during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 14 February 2022 A Taliban fighter directs traffic as a street vendor sells red heart-shaped balloons for Valentine's Day, in Kabul, Afghanistan
AP
World news in pictures 13 February 2022 Russian Navy's diesel-electric Kilo class submarine Rostov-on-Don sails with an naval ensign of the Russian Federation, also known in Russian as The Andreyevsky Flag on it through the Bosphorus Strait on the way to the Black Sea
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 12 February 2022 People participate in the Winter Snow Sports Festival in Kalam
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 11 February 2022 A tank during joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus as part of an inspection of the Union State’s Response Force, at a firing range near Brest
Russian Defence Ministry/AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 10 February 2022 Multiple exposure photo of Magdalena Czyszczon of Poland during the Speed Skating warm up at the 2022 Beijing Olympics
Reuters
World news in pictures 9 February 2022 An Indian hand rickshaw puller waits for customers in front of a building displaying posters of different theater shows in Kolkata, India
AP
World news in pictures 8 February 2022 Starlings overfly Zaragoza, Spain
EPA
World news in pictures 7 February 2022 Performers dressed as superhero characters pose with a child receiving the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 at a gym in San Juan City, suburban Manila
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 6 February 2022 Cars stop before a flooded area, after Cyclone Batsirai made landfall, on a road in Vohiparara, Madagascar
Reuters
World news in pictures 5 February 2022 A woman carries a child as locals who were displaced by Cyclone Ana find refuge in an evacuation centre at the West Ankorondrano neighbourhood, Madagascar
Reuters
World news in pictures 4 February 2022 Performers take part in the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, at the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 3 February 2022 Italian Air Force aerobatic display team, the Frecce Tricolori, perform during the inauguration of the president of the Italian Republic, in Rome. Sergio Mattarella was elected for a second term
EPA
World news in pictures 2 February 2022 Italian athletes during training ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics
Reuters
World news in pictures 1 February 2022 People are sprayed with foam at an amusement park as part of holiday festivities on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Tiger in Yogyakarta
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 31 January 2022 Arterial roads are lit up as morning commuters drive along at dawn in western Beijing ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 30 January 2022 Rafael Nadal reacts after beating Daniil Medvedev in the men’s singles Australian Open final. In doing so, the Spaniard won a record-breaking 21st grand slam title
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 29 January 2022 A worker cleans up crude oil on Mae Ram Phueng beach following a spill caused by a leak in an undersea pipeline owned by Star Petroleum Refining Public Company Limited in Rayong, Thailand
Getty
World news in pictures 28 January 2022 Medical staff in personal protective equipment are seen at a speed skating training session for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
Reuters
World news in pictures 27 January 2022 Los Angeles sculptor Dan Medina has honored the anniversary of the deaths of Kobe and Gigi Bryant along with seven other passengers by placing a temporary statue of the two where their helicopter crashed two years ago today in Calabasas, California
REUTERS
World news in pictures 26 January 2022 The Central Reserve Police Force during the 73rd Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, India
EPA
World news in pictures 25 January 2022 A winter swimming enthusiast dives into a partly frozen lake in a partly frozen lake in Shenyang, in northeastern China’s Liaoning province
AFP via Getty Images
Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis within Ukraine continues to unfold, as Moscow encircles and bombards a number of cities.
In the capital Kyiv, residents have entered a 35-hour long curfew after its mayor said several apartment blocks were hit by Russian forces based outside the city, killing at least two people.
In Mariupol, the southern port city besieged by Russian forces for nearly three weeks, the Red Cross has warned that hundreds of thousands of people were suffering shortages of food, medicine, heat and electricity.
Following a number of failed attempts to establish a humanitarian corridor to allow civilians to flee the city, a convoy of 2,000 cars was finally able to flee on Tuesday, after 160 cars did so on Monday.
But an adviser to Mariupol’s mayor claimed that up to 20,000 people may have been killed during the Russian bombardment of the city.
Warning that bodies lay unattended in the city’s streets, Petro Andryushchenko told the Ukraine Pravda website: “Some are being buried, some are in the yards, on the streets. Due to the intensity of the shelling, people cannot even go outside to bury their loved ones.”
As many as 200,000 people are thought to still be trapped in the city.
Recommended What are the Ukraine ‘biolabs’ and why have they become a focus for Fox News and the US right? The Independent’s petition to help Ukrainian refugees surpasses 200,000 signatures
In the west of Ukraine, the Russian bombing on Sunday of a military base near Lviv – just 23 kilometres from Poland – appears to have encouraged more people to seek refuge across the border.
“Everybody considered west Ukraine to be quite safe until they started striking Lviv,” Zhanna, a 40-year-old mother from Kharkiv heading to Poland to reunite with her godmother, told Reuters.
Some 500km southeast, at the busy Romanian Danube border crossing of Isaccea, a woman named Tanya, from Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, told the news agency: “On the way here I cried because I love my country. I want to live in Ukraine but I can’t. Because they are destroying everything now.”
Lamenting that “the impact on civilians is reaching terrifying proportion”, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned on Monday that Russia’s war on Ukraine was also holding “a sword of Damocles” over developing countries which face skyrocketing food, fuel and fertiliser prices – and are now seeing their breadbasket “being bombed.”
Russia and Ukraine represent more than half of the world’s supply of sunflower oil and about 30 per cent of the world’s wheat, while grain prices have already exceeded those at the start of the Arab Spring and the food riots of 2007-2008, Mr Guterres said.
At least 45 African and developing countries import a third or more of their wheat from Ukraine and Russia, including Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, he said, adding: “All of this is hitting the poorest the hardest and planting the seeds for political instability and unrest around the globe.”
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.