1 million refugees flee Ukraine in a week, says UNMarch 3, 2022 - 17:30 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - At least one million people have fled Ukraine in the week since Russia’s invasion, the United Nations said, with one official warning that “at this rate” the exodus could become “the biggest refugee crisis this century”. Thursday’s tally from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) amounts to more than 2 percent of Ukraine’s population, which the World Bank counted at 44 million at the end of 2020, on the move across borders in just seven days, Al Jazeera reports. The agency cautioned that the outflows were far from finished: It has predicted that as many as 4 million people could eventually leave Ukraine, and even that projection could be revised upward. Joung-ah Ghedini-Williams, a spokeswoman for the UNHCR, told the Associated Press news agency in an email that “our data indicates we passed the 1 million mark” as of midnight in central Europe, based on counts collected by national authorities. On Twitter, UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi wrote, “In just seven days we have witnessed the exodus of one million refugees from Ukraine to neighboring countries.” He added, “For many millions more, inside Ukraine, it’s time for guns to fall silent, so that life-saving humanitarian assistance can be provided.” In comparison, Syria, whose civil war erupted in 2011 and remains the country with the largest refugee outflows, had nearly 5.7 million people fleeing, according to UNHCR’s figures. But even at the fasted rate of flight in early 2013, it took at least three months for 1 million refugees to leave Syria. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Mirzoyan says meeting with Bayramov was “constructive” At the moment, Ararat Mirzoyan said, there is no basis for additional comments. OSCE vows support for Armenia “in all three directions of security” Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. 151 detained as civil disobedience campaigns continue in Yerevan Citizens have been blocking streets in the Armenian capital, demanding Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation. France welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan meeting in Almaty France has welcomed the new round of negotiations between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. |