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Poland welcomes 3.07 million refugees from Ukraine

01.05.2022 09:30
Poland has taken in 3 million and 76 thousand refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Polish Border Guard agency reported on Sunday.
Displaced Ukrainians at a Red Cross aid point in Lviv, Ukraine.
Displaced Ukrainians at a Red Cross aid point in Lviv, Ukraine.Photo: PAP/Vitaliy Hrabar

On Saturday, 23,500 refugees from Ukraine arrived in the country, according to the agency.

Poland last month passed a bill to offer wide-ranging support to Ukrainians escaping their country. The measure grants them legal residence in Poland and ensures access to education, healthcare and social benefits.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said on Friday that more than 5.4 million Ukrainians had fled their country since Russia invaded two months ago, with tens of thousands joining their ranks every day.

The UN is projecting that the war could produce 8.3 million refugees by the end of the year.

Women and children account for 90 percent of those who have fled abroad, with men aged 18 to 60 eligible for military call-up unable to leave, the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

Beyond the refugees, the IOM estimates more than 7.7 million people have been displaced within Ukraine, meaning that more than 13 million people overall have been uprooted by the conflict.

(mo)

Source: IAR, AFP