AP

AP PHOTOS: Eyes of Ukraine refugees reflect war and welcome

Apr 19, 2022, 5:18 PM | Updated: Apr 20, 2022, 6:23 pm

FILE - Displaced Ukrainians on a Poland-bound train bid farewell in Lviv, western Ukraine, Tuesday,...

FILE - Displaced Ukrainians on a Poland-bound train bid farewell in Lviv, western Ukraine, Tuesday, March 22, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)

(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)


              FILE - An injured dog from Ukraine is treated at the ADA foundation centre in Przemysl, southeastern Poland, Monday, March 28, 2022. Amid the exodus of Ukrainian refugees to Poland who fled the Russian invasion are the pet lovers who could not leave their animals behind. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
            
              FILE - A woman sits down as a Ukrainian refugee girl is entertained by Nimrod Eisenberg, a clown from the Dream Doctors organization from Israel, at the border crossing between Ukraine and Poland, in Medyka, southeastern Poland, on Thursday, March 24, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
            
              FILE - A refugee fleeing the war from neighbouring Ukraine holds a baby as she sits in a tent after crossing the border by ferry at the Isaccea-Orlivka border crossing, in Romania, Friday, March 25, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)
            
              FILE - Maxym Batrak, 5, from Brovary, looks at a phone in a house in the village of Guissona, Lleida, Spain, on March 22, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra, File)
            
              FILE - Children from Ukraine sleep on luggage at a railway station in Przemysl, southeastern Poland, on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
            
              FILE - Children sit in a refugee center in Nadarzyn, near Warsaw, Poland, on Friday, March 25, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
            
              FILE - A Ukrainian refugee carries pillows and blankets at a refugee center in Nadarzyn, near Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, March 31, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)
            
              FILE - Strollers for refugees and their babies fleeing the conflict from neighbouring Ukraine are left at the train station in Przemysl, Poland, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Francesco Malavolta, File)
            
              FILE - Ludmila, left, says goodbye to her granddaughter Kristina, who with her son Yaric, leave the train station in Odesa, southern Ukraine, on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)
            
              FILE - A man is bundled in a blanket as he waits in a queue after fleeing the war from neighbouring Ukraine, at the border crossing in Medyka, southeastern Poland, on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, FILE)
            
              FILE - A child refugee fleeing the war from neighbouring Ukraine with her family grimaces as she sits in a bus after crossing the border by ferry at the Isaccea-Orlivka border crossing, in Romania, Friday, March 25, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)
            
              FILE - Refugee children look out from a bus leaving to Romania after fleeing the war from neighbouring Ukraine, at the border crossing in Palanca, Moldova, Friday, March 11, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
            
              FILE - An Internally displaced child holding a pet cat looks out from a bus at a refugee center in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 25, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
            
              FILE - People who fled the war in Ukraine rest inside an indoor sports stadium being used as a refugee center, in the village of Medyka, a border crossing between Poland and Ukraine, on March 15, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)
            
              FILE - Displaced Ukrainians on a Poland-bound train bid farewell in Lviv, western Ukraine, Tuesday, March 22, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country. The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)

The United Nations’ refugee agency says more than 5 million people have left Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country almost eight weeks ago.

The Geneva-based office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Wednesday that data from official border crossing points showed the number of war refugees had passed 5.03 million. About half of the total are believed to be children.

“Many would do anything, and some even risk going back, to see their loved ones,” High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi tweeted. “But every new attack shatters their hopes. Only an end to the war can pave the way for rebuilding their lives.”

The exodus started with wrenching goodbyes soon after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion. With most men prohibited from leaving so they would be available to fight, fathers put their young families on trains, and sons packed up the cars of older relatives, none knowing when they would see each other next.

European Union countries welcomed the arrivals from Ukraine with sympathy, soup, baby strollers and blankets. More than half of the total number of refugees, over 2.8 million, arrived first in Poland.

Although many have stayed there, an unknown number have traveled on to other European countries. After reaching 4 million on March 30, the tide of people leaving Ukraine has slowed somewhat in recent weeks. Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine this week may cause more to flee.

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AP PHOTOS: Eyes of Ukraine refugees reflect war and welcome