More of two million people They fled Ukraine in the twelve days since the Russian invasion began, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
The vast majority of them are in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova, while some 153,000 moved to other countries in Europe.
“Today the outflow of refugees from Ukraine reaches two million people,” the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, posted on his Twitter account.
The IOM reported that it began a collaboration with the digital accommodation platform Airbnb to connect people who fled Ukraine with short-term free hosting possibilities in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova.
The firm last week offered accommodation for 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and so far more than 26,000 owners have signed up to offer their accommodation for free or at a discount in numerous countries around the world.
“Safe, private and accessible accommodation is essential at this time,” said an IOM spokesman in Geneva.
Ukrainian refugees queue at the border crossing of Porubne (Ukraine) to enter Romania. Photo: EFE
Since the conflict began twelve days ago, Poland has opened its doors to 885,000 Ukrainians, while Hungary has opened its doors to 170,000, according to UNHCR data.
Both countries have been among the most reluctant in Europe in recent years to accept refugees, but in the face of the crisis in Ukraine they have kept their borders open and organized the reception of Ukrainians who have escaped the war.
Was progress made on safe evacuations?
The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Iryna Vereshchuk, indicated on Tuesday that both sides had agreed to a ceasefire from 9 am to 9 pm (Ukrainian time) to evacuate civilians from Sumy.
However, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry accused the Russian forces of bombing the humanitarian corridor opened between the cities of Zaporizhzhia and Mariupol, where according to humanitarian organizations hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped.
“ceasefire violated. The Russian armed forces are now shelling the humanitarian corridor from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol. 8 trucks plus 30 buses ready to bring humanitarian aid to Mariupol and to evacuate civilians from Zaporizhzhia,” ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko tweeted.
For his part, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, stated that Russia “holds 300 civilians hostage in Mariupol, prevents humanitarian evacuation despite agreements with the Red Cross.”
“A child died of dehydration yesterday. War crimes are part of Russia’s deliberate strategy. I urge all states to publicly call on Russia to let people out,” the minister tweeted.
The humanitarian corridors had been agreed on Monday in the third round of direct talks between representatives of Ukraine and Russia since the beginning of the invasion on February 24.
With information from EFE and AP
AFG
