UNHCR says Russia-Ukraine conflict has triggered Europe’s worst refugee crisis

Geneva, Mar 29: U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR has said the Russia-Ukraine conflict has triggered Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II. The Agency said speed and breadth of refugees fleeing to countries including Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia as well as Russia is unprecedented in recent times.

According to the latest tally announced yesterday by the UNHCR, total exodus now stands at 3.87 million. The Agency's senior emergency coordinator in Poland, Alex Mundt said until there is a political solution, there is no guarantee that the trend of new arrivals will decrease.

The International Organization for Migration, IOM, has also estimated that more than 6.5 million people in Ukraine have been driven from their homes due to conflict but remain displaced inside the country. IOM said another 12 million people are believed to be trapped in places where fighting has been intense, or do not want to leave.