More than 12 million people were stranded in areas affected by Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, while over 6.4 million Ukrainians were displaced, but remain in the country, as of Wednesday, the United Nations-run Global Protection Cluster said Friday.
The staggering statistics were compiled via survey by the International Organization for Migration, or IOM, and shared in Friday’s “Update on IDP Figures in Ukraine.” An “IDP” is an internally displaced person, or someone who was displaced from their home but remains in the country.
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The IOM found that an estimated 6.48 million IDPs were reported in Ukraine as of Wednesday, according to the Protection Cluster, a coalition of non-governmental, United Nations and humanitarian organizations.
But the coalition notes that IDP figures “are only one side of the humanitarian impact of the military offensive against Ukraine.”
More than 12 million people are estimated to remain stranded in areas impacted by Russia’s ongoing invasion. Those 12 million people also include those who are “unable to leave due to heightened security risks, destruction of bridges and roads, as well as lack of resources or information on where to find safety and accommodation,” the report states.
Meanwhile, Ukraine still lacks “humanitarian corridors with satisfactory security guarantees for the safe evacuation of civilians” – a need that the coalition called “the most pressing and urgent.”
Also on Friday, the UN’S High Commissioner for Human Rights reported 2,149 civilian casualties in Ukraine from Feb. 24 through midnight Friday. Of those 2,149 people, 816 were killed and 1,333 were hurt, the office reported.
Officials have said they believe the actual figures are considerably higher.
The UN Refugee Agency estimates that more than 3.2 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Feb. 24.
