At least 677,000 refugees flee Ukraine: UN

According to UN Refugee Agency chief Filippo Grandi, around half had fled to Poland, whilst roughly 90,000 had reached Hungary, 60,000 Moldova, 50,000 Slovakia and 40,000 Romania.

Some 677,000 refugees have fled the conflict in Ukraine for safety in neighbouring countries, while around a million people are estimated to be internally displaced, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

A woman is in tears as she holds her child after feeling from Ukraine and arriving at the border in Kroczowa, Poland (Reuters)

The UN Refugee Agency chief Filippo Grandi said the numbers of people on the move was “extremely worrying”, as Russian troops pound cities in eastern Ukraine, on day six of Moscow’s invasion.

“We are looking at what could become Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century,” Grandi said.

Grandi said that around half had fled to Poland, whilst roughly 90,000 had reached Hungary, 60,000 Moldova, 50,000 Slovakia and 40,000 Romania.

The United Nations launched an emergency appeal on Tuesday for $1.7 billion to provide urgent humanitarian aid to people caught up in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and refugees fleeing the fighting.

The Red Cross also appealed on Tuesday for more than $270 million to help people caught up in the Ukraine conflict.