The UN refugee agency reported Friday that more than 1.2 million people have left Ukraine since the fighting began.
Alina Kosinska, a refugee from Zaporizhzhia, the site of the Russian attack on the nuclear power station, has arrived in the Polish border town of Przemysl where many from Ukraine are being welcomed.
“I’m very scared about my home and I hope that Europe and all the world can stop Putin,” she told Euronews. “I lost my home, I lost my normal life, I had a job there. Now I need to run away from my country.”
The refugees are being sheltered in a large reception centre in the town.
‘Hundreds of people are going to spend the night here tonight. There are others leaving to other countries and other locations in Poland,” said Euronews reporter Monica Pinna in Przemysl.
“We have seen incredible examples of solidarity. There are cars and vans arriving here from Germany and Italy, from France, bringing food, bringing clothes. The situation is heartbreaking but these examples of solidarity are incredible to see.”
The UN figures show that more than 165,000 people left Ukraine on Thursday — down slightly from Wednesday’s count and well under the nearly 200,000 on Tuesday, which amounted to the peak one-day outflow of people from Ukraine since the conflict began, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Its data portal on Ukraine showed that the majority had gone to neighbouring Poland, and roughly 145,000 had fled to Hungary. Another 103,000 were in Moldova and more than 90,000 in Slovakia.
UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo said “we know that the majority are women, children and the elderly,” but she was unable to provide a more specific breakdown by age or gender.
Some 670,000 refugees from Ukraine are now said to have crossed into Poland since the Russian invasion began.
Ukraine and Russia have agreed “in principle” to establish corridors for civilians to leave combat zones safely, and for ceasefires to operate while they make the journey.
Watch Euronews’ report from the border between Ukraine and Poland in the player above.