According to a representative for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), 8.3 million people are expected to depart Ukraine this year, an increase from its previous estimate.

In the last two months, more than 12.7 million people have abandoned their homes, including 7.7 million internally displaced people and more than 5 million who have fled across borders, according to UNHCR spokesman Shabia Mantoo.

The UNHCR had anticipated 4 million refugees in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, but that number was surpassed last month.

“The scale of the crisis, definitely the rapidity of people fleeing, we have not seen in recent times,” Mantoo said during the briefing.

She said Syria continues to be the world’s largest current refugee crisis, with 6.8 million people fleeing.

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