1.5 million people have fled Ukraine in 10 days: UN refugee official

Filippo Grandi said the people have fled over “10 days, essentially from Ukraine into five neighboring countries.”

“If I think of past decades, I cannot think in Europe of a faster exodus of people, not since the end of the Second World War,” he added.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” aimed at “demilitarization” of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine. In 2014, the two regions declared themselves new republics, refusing to recognize Ukraine’s Western-backed government.

Announcing the operation, Putin said the mission was aimed at “defending people who for eight years are suffering persecution and genocide by the Kiev regime.”

Russian forces have made progress in southern Ukraine since the beginning of the operation, overrunning the city of Kherson and besieging the port of Mariupol, but Odessa, another port city, has so far been largely spared.

A planned evacuation of Mariupol — a port city of a half-million people — was halted for a second consecutive day on Sunday, the mayor’s office said.

Earlier, the two sides agreed to open humanitarian corridors to allow civilians out of some combat zones.

“We need this to stop because, without the war stopping, people will just continue to pour out of the country,” Grandi said.

Putin has said Moscow would only halt its offensive if Kiev stopped fighting and the Kremlin’s demands were met.

“It was underlined that the suspension of the special operation is only possible if Kiev stops military operations and carries out well-known Russian demands,” the Kremlin said in a statement quoting the president as saying during a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday.

Moscow has specified some of the demands as protection of its interests and nationals in Ukraine and prevention of the country’s accession to the Western military alliance of NATO.

Also on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged that eight rockets had completely destroyed the Havryshivka Vinnytsia International Airport in central Ukraine.

Zelensky repeated his plea from the NATO alliance to set up a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine.

“We repeat every day: ‘close the sky over Ukraine!’ Close for all Russian missiles, Russian combat aircraft…,” he said.

The alliance has declined the request for apparent fears of being dragged into a war with Russia.