The United Nations estimates over 4 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Feb. 24. Escaping Russian bombs and bullets, more than 2.3 million have come to neighbouring Poland.
鈥淓veryone in the column behind us was shot,鈥� a recent arrival from the hard-hit Ukrainian city of Mariupol said in Medyka, Poland. 鈥淲e managed to escape.鈥�
鈥淚t will go further,鈥� another Ukrainian refugee in Poland said. 鈥淭he world should prepare for more waves to come.鈥�
The (UNHCR) shows how Poland has taken in the most refugees since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Countries bordering Ukraine have accepted over a million more, with Poland followed by Romania at 600,000, Moldova at 385,000, Hungary at 360,00 and Slovakia at 280,000.
鈥淗opefully the trend of new arrivals will decrease,鈥� UNHCR senior policy advisor Alex Mundt said. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any guarantee of that until there鈥檚 a political solution.鈥�
Refugees have also travelled further west to Germany, France and the U.K., and south to Spain and Italy.
Italy has taken in more than 60,000 Ukrainians and has committed to more than double that number. The country receives more refugees than any other in Europe, including people from Syria, Afghanistan and North Africa. Those who arrive can stay for up to 90 days before they have to apply for a permit.
At a refugee shelter for women in Rome, 54-year-old Zhanna Valeuska says she packed one bag, all she was allowed, and loaded onto a train heading west. The distance between the capital cities of Rome and Kyiv is roughly the same as between Winnipeg and Toronto.
Valeuska hopes she will one day be able to return home.
鈥淭he beautiful place, now many of [those] places destroyed,鈥� she told 麻豆传媒. 鈥淲e think to return to Ukraine.鈥�
