According to the United Nations, more than one million people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, making it the fastest refugee flight in history.
“We have seen an outflow of one million refugees from Ukraine to neighboring countries in just seven days,” UN refugee director Filippo Grandi tweeted. “Unless the crisis is resolved quickly, millions more people will be compelled to escape Ukraine.”
After a day of conflicting claims over whether Moscow had conquered a major metropolitan Centre for the first time in its eight-day assault, Russian troops were in the Centre of the southern Ukrainian port city of Kherson on Thursday.
Kherson, a strategically important southern provincial capital where the Dnieper River empties into the Black Sea, is the first major city to fall since Moscow launched its campaign on February 24.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, continues to be bombarded by Russian artillery, with police and academic facilities among the most recent targets.
A member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observer team was killed in the shelling, according to the OSCE.
Despite multiple claims of non-combatant casualties and the bombing of residential areas, Russia denies targeting civilians.
For the first time since the invasion began last week, Russia announced military losses on Wednesday, claiming roughly 500 men had been killed and nearly 1,600 injured.
