Ukraine war: 4.5 million have fled Russian invasion as attacks continue; Pope denounces ‘folly of war’ on Palm Sunday
- About 2.6 million fled to Poland and 686,000 to Romania; but with few border controls within the EU, it’s believed ‘a large number of people’ have moved on
- As many celebrated Palm Sunday and prayed for Ukraine, Pope Francis lamented the ‘folly of war’ that leads people to commit ‘senseless acts of cruelty’
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The UN refugee agency says the number of people who have left Ukraine since the beginning of the war has reached 4.5 million.
On Sunday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ online portal on the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine since February 24 brought the total to some 4.504 million.
About 2.6 million of those fled at least initially to Poland and more than 686,000 to Romania. However, UNHCR notes that there are very few border controls within the European Union and it believes “a large number of people” have moved on from the first country they arrived in.
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Also on Sunday, Kyiv said 26 Ukrainians returned home following a prisoner exchange with Russia. “On the order of President Zelensky, the third prisoner exchange took place today. Twelve of our servicemen are returning home, including one female officer,” deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk says on Telegram. Fourteen civilians including nine women were also on their way home, she said.
As Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine, two people were killed and several injured on Sunday in the town of Derhachy in the northeastern Kharkiv region, regional governor Oleh Synyehubov said in a Facebook post.
Russian forces had carried out 66 artillery attacks across several regions the governor said, adding: “Two people were killed, there are casualties. As you can see, the Russian army continues to ‘fight’ with the civilian population, because it has no victories at the front,” Synyehubov said.
On Saturday, a mass grave containing dozens of Ukrainian bodies was discovered in Buzova, a village west of Kyiv, according to a local official.
Taras Didych, the local leader, told Ukrainian TV that the bodies were found in a pit near a petrol station. Bodies had also been found in a dozen shelled cars on the main road from the cities of Kyiv to Zhytomyr, which goes through Buzova, he said.
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Russia-Ukraine conflict: hundreds of body bags pile up in Bucha
Russian troops recently withdrew from the area around Kyiv, after spending the first several weeks of the war trying unsuccessfully to blockade the city. The United Nations has been able to confirm more than 1,700 civilian deaths. But, like the government in Kyiv, the UN assumes the actual toll is far higher.
Mounting civilian casualties have triggered widespread international condemnation and new sanctions, in particular over hundreds of deaths in the town of Bucha, to the northwest of Kyiv that until just over a week ago was occupied by Russian forces.
Russia has failed to take one major city since invading on February 24 but Ukraine says Russia is gathering its forces in the east for a major assault and has urged people to flee.
Celebrating Palm Sunday Mass before crowds in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said that the “folly of war” leads people to commit “senseless acts of cruelty.”
Francis did not explicitly cite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the reference was clear and he has repeatedly denounced the war and the suffering brought to innocent people.
During his Palm Sunday homily, the pontiff said: “When we resort to violence … we lose sight of why we are in the world and even end up committing senseless acts of cruelty. We see this in the folly of war, where Christ is crucified yet another time.”
Francis lamented “the unjust death” of husbands and sons, refugees fleeing bombs, young people deprived of a future and “soldiers sent to kill their brothers and sisters.”
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The Pope has previously slammed the war in Ukraine, saying: “We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past.”
While not directly naming Russian President Vladimir Putin, he clearly alluded to his decision to invade Ukraine, saying: “Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interest, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a future,” he said.
