Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has fuelled a refugee crisis in which hundreds of thousands of people are flooding into the surrounding nations, Kelly Clements, UN Deputy High Commissioner for the UN Refugee Agency, said in a conversation with CTV News.
“We haven’t seen a displacement situation like this in Europe in decades,” she said Wednesday.
She said that they have done work with governments to allow those countries to support refugees, adding that while most people fleeing Ukraine are going to Poland and Hungary, others are going to smaller countrxjmtzywies such as Moldova that may “need more support.”
“We will work with them both in the immediate days in terms of what those requirements will be, but also the long term,” she said.
She revealed earlier that around 875,000 people had crossed the border out of Ukraine so far, and that they have been seeing around 200,000 a day.
Those fleeing Ukraine for their safety are largely looking for temporary shelter while their home is under attack, and many have left behind loved ones, she said. Men of military age were banned from leaving Ukraine by President Volodymyr Zelensky, making the majority of refugees women and children.
“In refugee situations, generally people want to stay close to their homes, they want to stay close to their home country, and in this case and in Ukraine, it’s not different,” Clements said. “Particularly when we’ve seen families separated and men, brothers, fathers, grandfathers, nephews having to stay within Ukraine, their families will want to be close to them. And they’ll want to return as soon as the fighting stops, as soon as it is safe to do so.
“And of course we’ll do everything we can on the other side on coming back to Ukraine when it’s possible to do so.”
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
