Millions of refugees have left Ukraine, according to data from UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency. The exodus is set to become Europe’s worst humanitarian crisis in this century, already on par with the number of refugees who were displaced from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan in 2015. Millions more people are displaced within the country, though the exact number is hard to know for sure.
Nearly 3 million people have left Ukraine, foreshadowing a massive humanitarian crisis
Photos and videos show long waits, freezing temperatures and sparse accommodations along Ukraine’s borders in the early days of the war. Millions more are likely to be displaced in the coming months.
If fighting continues, as many as 4 million — roughly 10 percent of the Ukrainian population — could be displaced in the coming weeks, Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, said on Feb. 28.
Photos and videos from the first weeks of conflict show packed train stations and traffic jams snaking through border towns. Crowds of refugees huddle in groups to fight the cold, sleep on cots in churches and gymnasiums and sort through boxes of donations from around the world.
The majority of the refugees escapes to Poland, but people are also streaming into Moldova, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary. A large number of people are expected to continue onto other European countries in the coming months.
Belarus
Poland
Russia
1.4k
1.8 M
143K
UKRAINE
Slovakia
213K
~3M refugees
Hungary
264K
Romania
453K
Moldova
337K
CRIMEA
Other European
countries
Black Sea
540K people
As of 7:40 a.m. Eastern Mar. 15
Source: United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR)
Belarus
Poland
Russia
1.4k
1.8M
143K
UKRAINE
Slovakia
~3M refugees
213K
Hungary
264K
Romania
453K
Moldova
337K
CRIMEA
Other European
countries
540K people
Black Sea
As of 7:40 a.m. Eastern Mar. 15
Source: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Traffic data from Google showed severe backups at multiple border crossings early in the conflict, particularly at crossings into Poland. Ukrainians trying to leave by train and bus also struggled with crowds and service halts.
The U.N. refugee agency has said the mass migration out of Ukraine is the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Because Ukrainian authorities have forced men ages 18 to 60 to stay in the country to fight the invasion, most people leaving Ukraine are women and children, some of them making the journey alone.
At least 1 million children have fled the war, something UNICEF spokesman James Elder called “a dark historical first.”
Available border crossings to Europe
Populated areas
Warsaw
BELARUS
RUSSIA
POLAND
Kyiv
Lviv
Dnieper
Kharkiv
High-traffic
crossings
SLOVAKIA
MOLDOVA
UKRAINE
Budapest
HUNGARY
Odessa
ROMANIA
CRIMEA
Bucharest
As of Feb. 27.
Does not include railway crossings.
Black Sea
100 MI
Sources: Ukrainian government, border police authorities.
Available border crossings to Europe
Populated areas
Warsaw
BELARUS
RUSSIA
POLAND
Kyiv
Lviv
Dnieper
Kharkiv
High-traffic
crossings
SLOVAKIA
UKRAINE
MOLDOVA
Budapest
HUNGARY
Odessa
ROMANIA
CRIMEA
Bucharest
Black Sea
As of Feb. 27.
Does not include railway crossings.
100 MI
Sources: Ukrainian government, border police authorities.
Available border crossings to Europe
Populated areas
Warsaw
BELARUS
RUSSIA
POLAND
Kyiv
Lviv
Kharkiv
Dnieper
High-traffic
crossings
SLOVAKIA
UKRAINE
Budapest
MOLDOVA
HUNGARY
Odessa
ROMANIA
CRIMEA
Bucharest
Black Sea
As of Feb. 27.
Does not include railway crossings.
100 MI
Sources: Ukrainian government, border police authorities.
Available border crossings to Europe
Populated areas
Warsaw
BELARUS
RUSSIA
POLAND
Kyiv
Lviv
Kharkiv
Dnieper
SLOVAKIA
High-traffic
crossings
Bratislava
UKRAINE
MOLDOVA
Budapest
HUNGARY
Odessa
ROMANIA
CRIMEA
Bucharest
Black Sea
As of Feb. 27.
Does not include railway crossings.
100 MI
Sources: Ukrainian government, border police authorities.
Ukrainians can stay, visa-free, for 90 days in E.U. nations, and Ukrainian nationals will be eligible for “temporary protection” within the 27-nation bloc for up to three years, depending partly on conditions in Ukraine.
More than 1.5 million people have crossed into Poland in the first two and a half weeks after Russia’s invasion, a number that earlier estimates hadn’t projected would be reached until July.
A spokesperson for UNHCR posted a video on Feb. 28 showing crowds gathered outside a warehouse in Poland that was being used as a reception center for “a few thousand” refugees.
On Feb. 27, lines of cars stretched for 20 miles from the border crossing into Medyka, Poland, one of the busiest crossings between the two countries.
Slovakia declared a state of emergency on Feb. 26 because of the mass influx of refugees caused by the war. The government approved an infrastructure bill of 13 million euros ($14.5 million) to strengthen the Ukrainian border infrastructure and complete asylum facilities.
Slovakian officials said that the country will provide monthly stipends to Slovakians who support and house displaced Ukrainians.
Satellite images provided by Maxar showed a four-mile-long line at the border crossing in Siret, Romania, on Feb. 25. The U.N. refugee agency estimates that the NATO country of 19 million could take in up to 250,000 refugees.
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Siret border
crossing
ROMANIA
Bucharest
4 MILES
TO ROMANIA
Line of cars
NORTH
3 MILES
2 MILES
1 MILE
Detail
below
UKRAINE
ROMANIA
Border crossing
station
0
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Siret border
crossing
ROMANIA
Bucharest
4 MILES
TO ROMANIA
NORTH
Line of cars
3 MILES
2 MILES
1 MILE
Detail
below
UKRAINE
ROMANIA
Border crossing
station
0
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Siret border
crossing
ROMANIA
Bucharest
4 MILES
TO ROMANIA
Line of cars
NORTH
3 MILES
2 MILES
1 MILE
Detail
below
UKRAINE
ROMANIA
Border crossing
station
0
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Siret border
crossing
ROMANIA
Bucharest
4 MILES
TO ROMANIA
Line of cars
NORTH
3 MILES
2 MILES
1 MILE
UKRAINE
ROMANIA
Border crossing
station
0
Source: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies
Feb. 25
Siret border crossing
Ukraine-Romania
NORTH
Cars and
trucks
1,000 FEET
Border
crossing
station
UKRAINE
ROMANIA
Source: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies
Feb. 25
Siret border crossing
Ukraine-Romania
NORTH
Cars and
trucks
1,000 FEET
Border
crossing
station
UKRAINE
ROMANIA
Source: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies
Feb. 25
Siret border crossing
Ukraine-Romania
NORTH
1,000 FEET
Border
crossing
station
UKRAINE
ROMANIA
Cars and trucks
Source: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies
NORTH
UKRAINE
ROMANIA
1,000 FEET
Border
crossing
station
Cars and trucks
Border crossings to Slovakia and Hungary were also clogged by long lines of vehicles waiting to cross.
Feb. 27
Luzhanka border crossing
Hungary-Ukraine
NORTH
UKRAINE
HUNGARY
Border
crossing
station
1,000 FEET
Feb. 28
Uzhhorod border crossing
Slovakia-Ukraine
NORTH
0.5 miles
to Slovakia
500 FEET
Source: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies
Feb. 27
Luzhanka border crossing
Hungary-Ukraine
NORTH
UKRAINE
HUNGARY
Border
crossing
station
1,000 FEET
Feb. 28
Uzhhorod border crossing
Slovakia-Ukraine
NORTH
0.5 miles
to Slovakia
500 FEET
Source: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies
Feb. 27
Luzhanka border crossing
Hungary-Ukraine
NORTH
UKRAINE
HUNGARY
Border
crossing
station
1,000 FEET
Feb. 28
Uzhhorod border crossing
Slovakia-Ukraine
NORTH
0.5 miles
to Slovakia
500 FEET
Source: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies
Feb. 27
Feb. 28
Luzhanka border crossing
Uzhhorod border crossing
Hungary-Ukraine
Slovakia-Ukraine
NORTH
NORTH
0.5 miles
to Slovakia
UKRAINE
HUNGARY
Border
crossing
station
1,000 FEET
500 FEET
Source: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies
Feb. 27
Feb. 28
Luzhanka border crossing
Uzhhorod border crossing
Hungary-Ukraine
Slovakia-Ukraine
NORTH
NORTH
0.5 miles
to Slovakia
UKRAINE
HUNGARY
Border
crossing
station
1,000 FEET
500 FEET
Source: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies
As the flow of refugees out of Ukraine intensifies, some will stay in Eastern Europe, but others will continue westward to countries like Germany. Refugees who arrived in Berlin in the first weeks of conflict were received by Germans offering water and holding signs offering places to stay.
Anna Svitlyk, who arrived in Berlin with her five children after leaving Ukraine, said she planned to sleep in a hotel next to the train station that is offering free accommodation for a few days, then make her way to Sweden to wait out the war.
“Every European country gave us free food, free shelter. We owe them so much and are so grateful,” she told The Washington Post. “But we want to go home.”
As conflict intensified, Ukraine’s border guards were ordered last week to stop all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country, disappointing many who got to border checkpoints after hours of travel and wait.
“If I could go, too, I would,” Vitali, 31, told The Post after his wife and child crossed into Poland, with tears in his eyes. “It’s brutal.”
Annabelle Timsit, Leslie Shapiro, Monica Ulmanu, Shelly Tan and Youjin Shin contributed to this report.
correction
A previous version of this article misstated the amount allocated by Slovakia's infrastructure bill to strengthen border infrastructure. The bill authorized 13 million euros for border infrastructure, not 13 billion euros. This article has been corrected.