Poland received over 1.8 mn Ukrainian refugees so far: Secretary of State

Polish State Secretary Maciej Wasik said on Monday that over 1.8 million refugees from Ukraine had crossed the border with Poland since the start of the Russian military operation.

"Eighty-two thousand people have crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border yesterday. The situation is stable today. The influx is almost half of what it was at its peak a week ago. Nevertheless, the influx of refugees is very large, and we already have 1.8 million people who have fled from Ukraine to Poland since the beginning of the conflict," Wasik told a briefing.

Earlier in the day, the Polish Permanent Representation to the European Union said on Twitter that over 2.5 million refugees have left Ukraine. On March 8, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the European Union expects up to 5 million refugees from Ukraine in total.

On February 24, Russia began a military operation in Ukraine, responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in countering the aggression of Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only.

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, almost 600 civilians have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in Ukraine since the start of the conflict.