According to the data provided by the UN, as of 21 March, 3.5 million people have migrated abroad, and 6.5 million people have been displaced within Ukraine. Ukrainians who are leaving their countries are primarily migrating to neighbouring countries such as Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova. Poland alone has already received 2.1 million Ukrainians.
Although the Ukrainians are primarily trying to find themselves a safe haven in neighbouring countries, they are travelling all across the world. According to the Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, 58,000 Ukrainians have migrated to Turkey since the beginning of the invasion.
Russians also fleeing
It is widely reported that thousands of Russians, who have economical and/or political concerns are trying to flee as a result of the international financial sanctions implemented aginst Russia.
Russian president Vladimir Putin’s polarising stadium speech, which implied a zero-tolerance policy against criticism, acheived wide coverage in the western media. Thousands of Russian activists, academics and critics of Putin are expected to flee the country as a result of the invasion.
For the Russian migrants, countries such as Israel, the UAE, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia come first as points of interest. According to the Turkish media outlet Habertürk, 14,000 Russians have already migrated to Turkey.
According to a New York Times article there are journalists and bloggers who are afraid of getting arrested, and artists who are uncertain about the future of Russia, among the Russians who have migrated to Turkey.