Ukraine Refugee Count Hits 1 Million+ as Russia’s Invasion Rolls On

Figures released Wednesday reveal upwards of one million refugees are fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, alongside an estimated 2000 civilian fatalities.

The surge in refugees follows the Russian capturing of the Ukrainian city of Kherson, the bombing of Kharkiv – where Russian forces have been accused of using devastating cluster bombs – as well as the ongoing siege of Kyiv and attacks across the East of Ukraine.

Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees released via Twitter that “in just seven days we have witnessed the exodus of one million refugees from Ukraine to neighbouring countries.”

This was reaffirmed by the U.N. who informed the Associated Press more than two percent of Ukraine’s population had begun to flee the war-torn nation, with Shabia Mantoo, a spokesperson for the international organization, saying “at this rate” the mass-evacuation from Ukraine could make it “the biggest refugee crisis this century”.

Russia has reported nearly 500 soldiers dead alongside 1,600 casualties. The Ukrainian government however disputes this and suggests Russia has suffered as many as 9000 casualties – which presumedly includes both injured and killed troops.

Ukraine has opted not to disclose its own military losses, and due to the uptaking of arms by Ukrainian civilians to defend their homeland, there is a blurred line over what constitutes a soldier and a civilian in the region – although the Ukrainian government has released that 2,000 civilians have died, but this has not been verified.

Kyiv has also suggested that Russia has lost 217 tanks, and about 60 aircraft including warplanes and helicopters, but these numbers also have not yet been independently verified.

It is unlikely that exact estimates will emerge from the conflict in the near future, due to conflicting accounts from different parties, as well as an effort from both sides to mask losses.

Multiple videos of burnt-out Russian vehicles have gone viral on social media, but many of these have not been validated, and there have been multiple online hoaxes – including old videos or footage from different nations – circulated by unknown individuals that have been revealed to be untrue.

Up to 200,000 Refugees to be Allowed Settle in UK Under Revised Visa Ruleshttps://t.co/hQKZC0G7j1

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 3, 2022

 

The news from Ukraine coincides with the U.N. General Assembly voting for a nonbinding resolution to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday, with 141 nations voting in favour and five – including Russia and Belarus – opposing the motion, with 35 countries abstaining.

As Breitbart News reported, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States ambassador to the United Nations condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine saying: “The truth is that this war was one man’s choice and one man alone: President Putin, it was his choice to force hundreds of thousands of people to stuff their lives into backpacks and flee the country”.

“Those were President Putin’s choices. Now it is time to make ours. The United States is choosing to stand with the Ukrainian people”, Greenfield continued.