Nearly 3.5 million Ukrainians have now fled the country, UN says

GENEVA — Nearly 3.5 million Ukrainians have now fled the country following Russia’s invasion, the United Nations says, praising neighboring countries for showing overwhelming compassion towards their “extreme plight.”

More than 10 million people — over a quarter of the population in regions under government control — are now thought to have fled their homes, including the millions of internally displaced people.

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, says 3,489,644 Ukrainians had fled the country since Russia invaded on February 24 — a figure up 100,600 on Sunday’s update.

“Over the last four weeks, the world has watched in disbelief. Countless lives have been lost while millions of others have been completely upended,” UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi says.

“As if to counter the despair, we have also witnessed overwhelming acts of welcome and compassion as neighboring countries, particularly local responders, have opened their hearts and homes to Ukrainians.

“Millions around the world were rightly moved by the extreme plight of the Ukrainian people,” he says, citing their “pain and sorrow… loss and anguish,” and “relief at finding safety and trepidation of an uncertain future.”