The number of Ukrainian refugees was expected to reach 1.5 million on Sunday as Russia continued its attack 11 days after invading Ukraine and Kyiv pressed for further Western action, including more sanctions and weapons.
The number of displaced Ukrainians has increased by nearly a half-million in three days, bringing the total number of refugees to nearly 1.5 million, a United Nations agency estimates.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused the largest refugee movement in Europe since World War II. Poland has accepted the majority of the displaced, with Polish Border Guard saying it has let 787,000 Ukrainians through. Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova have welcomed the rest, while over 50,000, mostly from the separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, went east into Russia, according to U.N. data.
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Moscow and Kyiv traded blame over a failed ceasefire plan that would have let civilians flee Mariupol and Volnovakha, two southern cities besieged by Russian forces.
Another round of talks was tentatively planned for Monday as Ukrainians who could escape spilled into neighbouring Poland, Romania, Slovakia and elsewhere.
"Unless there is an immediate end to the conflict, millions more are likely to be forced to flee Ukraine," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.
