Russian invasion has forced 6.5 million Ukrainians to flee country, UN says
More than 120 million people have been forcibly displaced by war, violence and persecution – a number the UN's refugee agency describes as a "terrible indictment on the state of the world". More than 6.5 million people have been displaced in Ukraine alone, the UNHCR reported on Thursday, World Refugee Day.
Originally known as Africa Refugee Day, World Refugee Day was marked for the first time on a global scale on 20 June 2001 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
It is described by the UN website as a day to honour people who have been forced to flee their homes.
The latest figures from the UNHCR show that a total of 6,554,800 people have fled Ukraine since the Russian in February 2022.
Most of them went to European countries, including Russia.
Ironically Russia took in a substantial portion of the Ukrainian refugees. The UNHCR figures show that some 1.2 million people fled from the invading army, many of them fleeing violence in the self-proclaimed independent republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Europe has taken in most of Ukraine's refugees, with almost 4.2 million now registered across the bloc.
Germany took the highest number of Ukrainians (1.1 million), followed by Poland (957,000), the Czech Republic (530,000), Spain (over 200,000) and Italy (170,000).
The United Kingdom has taken 240,000 people fleeing the war.
France's position
A majority of EU member states need to approve the extension.
Read more on RFI English
Read also:
Why Hungary, accused of xenophobia, has welcomed almost half a million refugees
UN brands record 110 million displaced people an 'indictment' of the state of the world
As war drags on, France seeks long-term solutions for Ukrainian refugees
