Geneva, March 11, (dpa/GNA) – The number of people who have fled Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion has exceeded 2.5 million, the UN Refugee Agency said on Friday.

According to the UN data, more than 1.5 million people had fled Ukraine to Poland, some 225,000 to Hungary, 176,000 to Slovakia and 282,000 to other European countries.

In Germany, the federal police said they knew of around 110,000 having arrived from Ukraine since the war broke out on February 24, many of them coming through Poland, but the actual figure was sure to be higher.

Ukrainians with biometric passports are allowed to move freely in the EU for 90 days without a visa. EU states have also agreed to take in the refugees quickly and without complications.

According to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 116,000 non-Ukrainian nationals were among those who have fled so far.

Dozens of member states have asked the IOM for help to bring their nationals home, with the first flights to Ghana, Lebanon and Tunisia already organized.

US Vice President Kamala Harris praised Romania’s humanitarian response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis during a visit to Bucharest.

“I’d like to speak for a moment directly to the Romanians, to thank you on behalf of the United States,” Harris said following a meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

“Romania has been extraordinary in the generosity and the courage that you have shown.”

Romania borders Ukraine and is a transit land for tens of thousands of people fleeing daily. Private volunteers and local authorities have provided assistance, such as food and temporary accommodation.

Some of the refugees passing through Romania are ending up in Greece.

Many Ukrainians emigrated to Greece around the end of the Soviet Union, so some refugees have friends and relatives to stay with there.

The Greek government said in a statement that, so far, 7,142 people had come to Greece from Ukraine, including 2,289 children.

Greece has refugee camps with the capacity to accommodate 60,000 people because of the refugee crisis following the Syrian civil war. Around 30,000 places are currently free, the government said.

Fellow EU nation Cyprus, which is Greek-speaking, has so far welcomed more than 3,000 Ukrainians, according to state radio.

France is meanwhile deploying special trains for the increasing number of Ukrainian refugees travelling through the country to Spain and Portugal.

Starting Saturday, a high-speed TGV service will run daily from Paris to Barcelona in cooperation with the Red Cross, broadcaster Europe 1 reported.

France itself is gearing up to receive about 100,000 people from Ukraine, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said.

Italy is also planning special measures to deal with an influx of Ukrainians.

“I have asked to register properties confiscated from the organized crime that we can immediately use for refugees,” Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

People in Ukraine are mainly fleeing via land but the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) has also called for a safe sea corridor to allow merchant ships and their crews to leave the Ukrainian war zone via the Black Sea.

A statement released on Friday said the IMO Council had agreed to promote the idea as an interim measure, adding that seafarers’ lives must be protected and commercial shipping must be allowed.

GNA

Geneva, March 11, (dpa/GNA) – The number of people who have fled Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion has exceeded 2.5 million, the UN Refugee Agency said on Friday.

According to the UN data, more than 1.5 million people had fled Ukraine to Poland, some 225,000 to Hungary, 176,000 to Slovakia and 282,000 to other European countries.

In Germany, the federal police said they knew of around 110,000 having arrived from Ukraine since the war broke out on February 24, many of them coming through Poland, but the actual figure was sure to be higher.

Ukrainians with biometric passports are allowed to move freely in the EU for 90 days without a visa. EU states have also agreed to take in the refugees quickly and without complications.

According to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 116,000 non-Ukrainian nationals were among those who have fled so far.

Dozens of member states have asked the IOM for help to bring their nationals home, with the first flights to Ghana, Lebanon and Tunisia already organized.

US Vice President Kamala Harris praised Romania’s humanitarian response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis during a visit to Bucharest.

“I’d like to speak for a moment directly to the Romanians, to thank you on behalf of the United States,” Harris said following a meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

“Romania has been extraordinary in the generosity and the courage that you have shown.”

Romania borders Ukraine and is a transit land for tens of thousands of people fleeing daily. Private volunteers and local authorities have provided assistance, such as food and temporary accommodation.

Some of the refugees passing through Romania are ending up in Greece.

Many Ukrainians emigrated to Greece around the end of the Soviet Union, so some refugees have friends and relatives to stay with there.

The Greek government said in a statement that, so far, 7,142 people had come to Greece from Ukraine, including 2,289 children.

Greece has refugee camps with the capacity to accommodate 60,000 people because of the refugee crisis following the Syrian civil war. Around 30,000 places are currently free, the government said.

Fellow EU nation Cyprus, which is Greek-speaking, has so far welcomed more than 3,000 Ukrainians, according to state radio.

France is meanwhile deploying special trains for the increasing number of Ukrainian refugees travelling through the country to Spain and Portugal.

Starting Saturday, a high-speed TGV service will run daily from Paris to Barcelona in cooperation with the Red Cross, broadcaster Europe 1 reported.

France itself is gearing up to receive about 100,000 people from Ukraine, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said.

Italy is also planning special measures to deal with an influx of Ukrainians.

“I have asked to register properties confiscated from the organized crime that we can immediately use for refugees,” Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

People in Ukraine are mainly fleeing via land but the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) has also called for a safe sea corridor to allow merchant ships and their crews to leave the Ukrainian war zone via the Black Sea.

A statement released on Friday said the IMO Council had agreed to promote the idea as an interim measure, adding that seafarers’ lives must be protected and commercial shipping must be allowed.

GNA