No fewer than 680,000 people have fled Ukraine since the Russian military invasion on February 24, with the number rising rapidly.
“The number of people who have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries has reached 677,000,” Filippo Grandi, who heads the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said on Twitter.
The UNHCR projected Tuesday that more than four million Ukrainian refugees may eventually need protection and assistance in neighbouring countries.
“We are looking at what could become Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century,” said Grandi.
The European Union’s crisis management commissioner has said the figure could reach seven million.
More than 37 million people lived under the Kyiv government’s control before last week’s invasion.
