GENEVA, March 20, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Ten million people -- more than a 
quarter of the population -- have now fled their homes in Ukraine due to 
Russia's "devastating" war, the United Nations refugees chief said Sunday. 

     "Among the responsibilities of those who wage war, everywhere in the 
world, is the suffering inflicted on civilians who are forced to flee their 
homes," said UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi. 

     "The war in Ukraine is so devastating that 10 million have fled either 
displaced inside the country, or as refugees abroad." 

     UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said Sunday that 3,389,044 Ukrainians had 
left since the Russian invasion began on February 24, with another 60,352 
joining the exodus since Saturday's update -- a flow roughly the same as the 
day before. 

     Some 90 percent of those who have fled are women and children. Ukrainian 
men aged 18 to 60 are eligible for military call-up and cannot leave. 

     UNICEF, the UN children's agency, said more than 1.5 million children 
are among those who have fled abroad, warning that the risks they face of 
human trafficking and exploitation are "real, and growing". 

     The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) also said that 
as of Wednesday, 162,000 third-country nationals had fled Ukraine to 
neighbouring states. 

     Millions more have fled their homes but remain within Ukraine's borders. 

     Some 6.48 million people were estimated to be internally displaced 
within Ukraine as of Wednesday, according to UN and related agencies, 
following an IOM representative survey. 

     UNHCR initially estimated that up to four million people could leave 
Ukraine. 

     Before the conflict, Ukraine had a population of 37 million in the 
regions under government control, excluding Russia-annexed Crimea and the 
pro-Russian separatist regions in the east.