More than 2.5 million Ukrainians have fled their country

The amount of people on the move constitutes “the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II,” UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Commissioner Filippo Grandi said Sunday, and is reminiscent of the 2015 migrant crisis spurred by the war in Syria which resulted in an estimated 1 million asylum-seekers.

While many residents in the central and eastern portions of the country have relocated to western Ukraine and away from the front lines, more than 2.5 million Ukrainians have left entirely following Russia’s invasion on February 24, according to the latest United Nations refugee estimates.

Grandi told French radio station France Inter the sheer number of people fleeing for safety is a “terrifying” figure. And while many refugees going to other countries have familial ties or connections, he said, “what worries me, what we fear is a second wave of persons who have a good deal less resources and connections and who will be much more vulnerable.”

Here’s a look at where many Ukrainians have headed to avoid the Russian incursion.

Ukraine’s neighbors

With more than 1.6 million Ukrainians crossing into its territory as of Friday, according to UNHCR data, Poland has received by far the most refugees.

Moldova received about 278,000 Ukrainians after the war broke out, according to UNHCR, and more than 173,000 of them have since moved to neighboring Romania.

“At the border, some women are really afraid to get into cars which is why our volunteers are now wearing vests” to help identify themselves, she said, and efforts are underway toward official identification for drivers to show they’ve been vetted by the government and are offering safe transportation services.

Seeking asylum throughout Europe

Berlin has become a major hub for refugees from Ukraine, Mayor Franziska Giffey said Wednesday night. Over the previous three days, more than 13,000 refugees had arrived in Berlin by train or bus, said Giffey, adding others had likely arrived by car.

Of the 7,251 people, “mostly women and children,” to have entered the country since the invasion, 6,967 are Ukrainian nationals, France’s Interior Ministry told CNN.

“We can see that things are increasing as the conflict progresses and today we have 25,000 places of refuge for these people,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Thursday, adding France had seen 3,000 arrivals in the previous two days.

In the United Kingdom, British Home Secretary Priti Patel told lawmakers in the House of Commons Thursday from next week, Ukrainians with passports would no longer need to go to a visa processing center before traveling to the UK. As of Wednesday, 760 visas had been granted by the UK.

Across Europe, nations including Austria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden have each reported thousands of Ukrainians arriving.

US, Canada pledge to assist

“Canada is ready to welcome Ukrainians fleeing Vladimir Putin’s war, and there is no limit to the number of applications that we are going to be willing to accept,” said Sean Fraser, Canada’s immigration minister.

Canada is home to the world’s largest Ukrainian diaspora after Russia, with more than a million Canadians who claim Ukrainian heritage.

“The US is absolutely prepared to do what we can and what we must,” Harris said during a visit to the Polish capital of Warsaw Thursday.

For nearly two years, the US southern border has largely been closed off to asylum-seekers because of a public health order invoked under the Trump administration at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.