More than 4.6 million Ukrainians have fled abroad because of the Russian war violence, UN refugee agency UNHCR reports in the latest overview.

 

The UN estimates the number of internally displaced persons at 7.1 million. Nearly 12 million people have had to leave their homes since the Russian invasion began on February 24.

A UNHCR spokesperson says the flow of refugees abroad is decreasing. However, according to the UN organization, people who now cross the border are in a more vulnerable condition and have fewer resources at their disposal. About 90 percent of the refugees are women and children. Ukrainian authorities forbid the departure of men who can fight.

Before the war, more than 37 million people lived in the Kyiv-controlled areas of Ukraine, excluding Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and the eastern areas that came under the control of pro-Russian separatists that same year.