Ukrainian refugee count nears 4 million

Over the past four days, the number of refugees leaving Ukraine daily has remained just below 50,000, compared to 200,000 per day at the height of the exodus in early March. It is difficult to tell if the slowdown will continue or if this is simply a pause until Russian attacks increase. The UN refugee agency estimates 3.9 million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion started last month, and an estimated 6.5 million are displaced inside the country.

Where are they going? Poland has greeted roughly 2.3 million Ukrainian refugees at the border with food and blankets, and the Polish parliament has granted them residency for 18 months. Thousands of Polish families have invited refugees into their homes, and teachers have set up temporary classes for Ukrainian children. Romania has taken in 600,000 Ukrainians, and Moldova, the fourth poorest country in the world, has allowed almost 400,000 to enter and provided buses to Romania for others. Hungary has accepted about 350,000 and Slovakia 300,000. The UN has called the evacuations the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II. Delegates from Ukraine and Russia resumed fresh talks aimed at ending the war on Tuesday in Turkey.

Dig deeper: Listen to Jenny Lind Schmitt’s story on The World and Everything in It podcast about Ukrainian refugees wondering what happens next.