100 days of war: One in 6 Ukrainians has turned refugee

The war, now nearly 100 days old, has led to the exodus of about 6.8 million people from Ukraine. The country's total population now stands at almost 37 million. It was nearly 43 million in 2021 — one out of every six people in Ukraine has become a refugee.

It is highly unusual to see a nearly 10 per cent jump in a country's population in the span of merely three months. It is also uncommon to see almost 15 per cent of a war-torn country's people — primarily women and children — flee its borders. Well, it's Poland that is witnessing a massive influx of Ukrainian refugees.

Refugees have fled mainly to neighbouring countries in Eastern Europe, with Poland providing space to most of them, followed by Romania, Hungary, Moldova, and Slovakia. As per UNHCR estimates, nearly 3.6 million people have entered Poland, which has led to the neighbouring country's population swelling by almost 10 per cent in just three months.

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to a kind of catastrophe that has rarely been seen anywhere in the world in decades. The war, now nearly 100 days old, has led to the exodus of about 6.8 million people from Ukraine. The country's total population now stands at almost 37 million. It was nearly 43 million in 2021 — one out of every six people in Ukraine has become a refugee. Meanwhile, Poland has to find ways to take care of a larger population now.

The scale and pace of the growing refugee crisis are the largest ever witnessed by Europe since World War II, as per the United Nations. With more than 6.8 million people fleeing Ukraine and nearly eight million Ukrainians being internally displaced, it has become the fastest forced population movement. The crisis is so colossal that with every passing second, almost one child in Ukraine becomes a refugee of the war.

While Ukrainians have been at the receiving end of the aggression, Russians have been bearing the brunt of international sanctions and the accompanying complications as well. As per the data available, 5,831 sanctions have been imposed on Russia since February, when it started its military invasion.