THE United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has disclosed that nearly 6.5 million people have been displaced inside Ukraine since the Russian invasion.
The UN agency disclosed this is in a statement.
“A good representation of the scale of internal displacement in Ukraine — calculated to stand at 6.48 million internally displaced persons in Ukraine as of March 16,” the agency said while giving an update on the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Ukraine.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) added that 3.2 million refugees have fled the country.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had initially estimated that up to four million people could leave Ukraine.
The agency said that 3,328,692 Ukrainians had left since the war began on 24 February, with another 58,030 joining the exodus since the last update.
“People continue to flee because they are afraid of bombs, airstrikes and indiscriminate destruction,” UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said.
“Aid is vital but can’t stop fear. Only stopping the war can.”
About a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million total population have been forced to flee from their homes since the invasion.
'Niyi worked with The ICIR as an Investigative Reporter and Fact-checker from 2020 till September 2022. You can shoot him an email via niyioyedeji1@gmail.com. You can as well follow him on Twitter via @niyi_oyedeji.