For the primary time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine started, individuals leaving Poland and returning to Ukraine are outnumbering these fleeing the war-torn nation, official knowledge present.

In accordance with Poland's Border Guard, roughly 19,300 individuals left Poland for Ukraine on Sunday, whereas 17,300 individuals fled Ukraine and crossed the Polish border on the identical day—a lower of 10 p.c in comparison with the day gone by.

A day earlier, on April 16, some 22,000 individuals entered Ukraine whereas 19,200 left the nation, the Polish border service stated.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin's battle towards Ukraine started on February 24, some 4.9 million Ukrainians have fled for neighboring international locations, with greater than half of refugees getting into Poland, in keeping with the UN Refugee Company (UNHCR).

The declining variety of Ukrainians leaving the nation means that Europe's largest refugee disaster since World Conflict II is dwindling, a minimum of for now. The Pew Analysis Middle, a nonpartisan American suppose tank, stated on March 25 that Putin's invasion had created "one of many greatest refugee crises of recent occasions."

The UNHCR estimates that roughly 2.6 million individuals fled to Poland, greater than 686,000 to Romania, and greater than 400,000 every to Hungary and the Republic of Moldova.

The newest figures come simply days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined in an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes what a victory for Kyiv would appear like following Russia's invasion.

The Ukrainian chief stated a victory for Ukraine would see the return of Ukrainians who fled the nation.

"They [Ukrainians] will come again," he stated. "The return of refugees is blood for the physique of Ukraine. With out them, there's nothing."

It additionally comes as Russia's advance within the nation continues to stall. Russian forces proceed to fulfill stiff Ukrainian resistance of their bid to seize Mariupol, a strategic port metropolis on the Azov Sea that would offer a land hall to Crimea, which the Kremlin annexed from Ukraine in in 2014.

Mathieu Boulègue, a analysis fellow at Chatham Home's Russia and Eurasia Programme, toutdated Newsweek late March that he anticipated Mariupol to fall to Russian forces inside weeks.

Mariupol is an "simple goal" for Russia to "present a victory," he stated.

The UK's Defence Ministry stated in an intelligence replace on Monday nonetheless that "concerted Ukrainian resistance" has severely examined Russian forces and diverted males and materials, slowing Russia's advance elsewhere.

Ukrainian fighters on Sunday ignored a surrender-or-die demand from Russia, as they continued to push again Russian forces from capturing the besieged metropolis.

Zelensky on Sunday repeated that Ukraine won't give up any of its territories with a purpose to carry the battle to an finish.

Newsweek contacted Russian authorities for remark.

Ukraine refugee crisis
A woman seems to be out from a window as she waits inside a practice taking refugees to Poland at Lviv practice station, western Ukraine, on March 5, 2022. On April 16, some 22,000 individuals entered Ukraine whereas 19,200 left the nation, the Polish border service stated. DANIEL LEAL/AFP/Getty Pictures