Four million refugees have fled Ukraine, says UN agency

A Polish soldier directs refugees as they wait in a queue with their belongings after fleeing the war from neighbouring Ukraine at the border crossing in Medyka, southeastern Poland, on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. The daily number of people fleeing Ukraine has fallen in recent days but border guards, aid agencies and refugees say Russia’s unpredictable war offers few signs whether it’s just a temporary lull or a permanent drop-off. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

More than four million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its war, in the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War, according to the UN refugee agency.

The new figure was posted on a UNHCR website. More than 2.3 million have arrived in Poland, but many have travelled on to other countries or back into Ukraine.