INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
'Unprecedented' flowThe UNHCR had been working on the estimate that four million people may eventually seek to leave Ukraine as the war
continues.But spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh said: "It is quite possible that that planning figure of four million will be revised up."We've
just touched 2.5 million and that's in just over two weeks, so that really wouldn't be a surprise," he told reporters in Geneva, via video
link from Poland, close to the Ukrainian border.He said the rapid flow of refugees was "certainly unprecedented since World War II" in
Europe."UNHCR commends the efforts of hosts and the immense solidarity shown by locals, volunteers and humanitarian organizations, who have
been providing support for accommodation, transport, food, and financial and material donations," Saltmarsh said.Paul Dillon, the spokesman
for the UN's International Organization for Migration, said 116,000 of those who had fled Ukraine were third-country nationals.Before Russia
invaded, more than 37 million people lived in Ukrainian territory under the control of the Kyiv government.More than 280,000 of those who
have fled Ukraine have already made their way to other European countries, the UN said.Russian strikes hit civilian targets in central
Ukraine's Dnipro city on Friday, as Moscow's troops edged closer to the capital.Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said Thursday that half the
urgent call for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, respect for international humanitarian law, and again thanks
neighboring countries for keeping their borders open to those fleeing," Saltmarsh said.He said the agency was working with the local
authorities in border nations to improve the reception conditions at the frontier, where people wait in line for hours to cross, often in
freezing temperatures.The agency is working to provide heating points where especially vulnerable people, such as pregnant women, the
elderly and the disabled, can sit and keep warm while they wait.UNHCR is also rolling out an emergency cash program to tide refugees
over.And within Ukraine, Saltmarsh said the agency was ramping up its plans to help the millions of people forced to leave their homes."Core
relief items for around 1.5 million people mobilized from UNHCR global stockpiles is in the pipeline," he said.
