Sharjah24 – AFP: Nearly 4.25 million Ukrainians have fled the country during Russia's invasion, while a further 7.1 million are thought be internally displaced within Ukraine, the United Nations said Tuesday.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 4,244,595 Ukrainians had fled across the country's borders since the war began on February 24 -- a figure up 29,548 since Monday.
Meanwhile the UN's International Organization for Migration estimated that 7.1 million internally displaced people (IDPs) had fled their homes but were still in Ukraine.
The IOM says that in addition to Ukrainian refugees, more than 206,000 non-Ukrainians living, studying or working in the country have also left.
This means that in total, more than a quarter of the population have been forced to flee.
Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine had a population of 37 million in the regions under government control, excluding Russia-annexed Crimea and the pro-Russian separatist regions in the east.
"The cessation of hostilities in Ukraine is of utmost importance, to allow for humanitarian access to all affected populations," the IOM said.
Women and children account for 90 percent of those who have left Ukraine, with men aged 18 to 60 eligible for military call-up and unable to leave.
Speaking via video-link Tuesday to a conference of European mayors in Geneva organised by the UN, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko decried a "genocide" in his country.
"If someone thinks the war is far away, and this war doesn't touch you, it's a mistake. This war can touch everyone in Europe," he said.
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