Refugee crisis: More than 2.5 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the Russian invasion. Here is where they are now

The number of people on the move constitutes “the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War”, said the commissioner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Filippo Grandi said on Sunday, and recalls the 2015 migrant crisis caused by the war in Syria which resulted in around 1 million asylum seekers.

While many central and eastern Ukrainians moved to western Ukraine and away from the front lines, more than 2.5 million Ukrainians left entirely after the Russian invasion of 24 February, according to the latest UN refugee estimates.

Grandi told French radio station France Inter that the number of people fleeing for safety is a “terrifying” figure. And while many refugees going to other countries have ties or family ties, he said, “what worries me, what we fear is a second wave of people who have far fewer resources and connections and who will be far more vulnerable.”

Here’s a look at where many Ukrainians headed to avoid the Russian incursion.

Ukraine’s neighbors

With more than 1.6 million Ukrainians entering its territory on Friday, according to UNHCR data, Poland hosted by far the most refugees.

Moldova took in around 278,000 Ukrainians after the outbreak of war, according to the UNHCR, and more than 173,000 of them have since moved to neighboring Romania.

“At the border, some women are really scared to get into cars, so our volunteers are now wearing vests” to help identify themselves, she said, and efforts are underway to officially identify drivers to show that they have been vetted by the government and provide safe transport services.

Apply for asylum anywhere in Europe

Berlin has become a major hub for refugees from Ukraine, Mayor Franziska Giffey said Wednesday evening. In the previous three days, more than 13,000 refugees had arrived in Berlin by train or bus, Giffey said, adding that others had probably arrived by car.

Of the 7,251 people, “mainly women and children”, who have entered the country since the invasion, 6,967 are Ukrainian nationals, the French interior ministry told CNN.

“We see that things are getting worse as the conflict progresses and today we have 25,000 reception places for these people,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Thursday, adding that the France had recorded 3,000 arrivals the previous two days.

In the UK, British Home Secretary Priti Patel told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Thursday from next week that Ukrainians with passports would no longer need to travel to a visa processing center before traveling to the UK. As of Wednesday, 760 visas had been granted by the United Kingdom.

Across Europe, countries including Austria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden have each reported the arrival thousands of Ukrainians.

The United States and Canada pledge to help

“Canada is ready to welcome Ukrainians fleeing Vladimir Putin’s war, and there is no limit to the number of applications we will be ready to accept,” said Sean Fraser, Canada’s Immigration Minister.

Canada is home to the largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world after Russia, with over one million Canadians claiming Ukrainian heritage.

“The United States is absolutely ready to do what we can and must,” Harris said during a visit to the Polish capital of Warsaw on Thursday.

For nearly two years, the US southern border has been largely closed to asylum seekers due to a public health order invoked under the Trump administration at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.