More Than 140,000 People Fled Ukraine In 24 Hours

A total of 140,000 people have fled Ukraine in 24 hours.

UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, recorded 2,155,271 refugees on its dedicated website — 143,959 more than the previous count on Tuesday.

“Behind the monolithic statistics are two million stories of separation, anguish, and loss,” UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi disclosed this in an interview.

Families have been “senselessly ripped apart”, plunged into “despair and unimaginable suffering” by the “brutal war”, he said.

Authorities and the UN expect the numbers to increase as the Russian army advances deeper into Ukraine, particularly as it approaches the capital, Kyiv.

Before Russia invaded, more than 37 million people lived in Ukrainian territory under the control of the central government.

Poland has championed the cause of Ukrainian refugees. The government has set up reception centres and charities have mobilised in a massive aid effort, helped by the estimated 1.5 million Ukrainians already living in the EU member state.