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Press Release // Refugee Resettlement

One Million Refugees Flee Ukraine in First Week of Russian Invasion

Global Refuge Staff

March 2, 2022

Contact: Timothy Young | timothy.young@globalrefuge.org

Washington, D.C.— One million refugees have fled Ukraine within the first week of the Russian invasion, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. UN officials have estimated that continued conflict could produce up to four million refugees.

The following is a statement from Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge:

“The sheer scale of this crisis demands urgent action from the international community to provide relief for those forced from the only home they have ever known. Among the most pressing priorities are food, clean drinking water, shelter, medical care, mental health services, and more. The United States has a significant role to play in supporting Ukraine’s neighboring nations who represent the frontlines of this humanitarian emergency.

The growing refugee exodus underscores the rapid deterioration of the security situation. It is imperative that the Biden administration heeds the call of advocates and lawmakers to designate Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status. Protecting Ukrainian families from deportation to an active warzone would be an important sign of solidarity and represents the clear moral course of action. Just as Europe plans to activate a temporary protection directive, designating TPS is well within the Biden administration’s authority, and the atrocities of the Russian invasion demand it be implemented at once.”

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