More than a million people who left Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion returned to the country

During the war in Ukraine, 3,640,000 people left the country and more than a million have already returned, Ukrainian Minister of the Interior Denis Monastirski reported Saturday.

“Throughout the war, 3,640,000 people left Ukraine and 1,130,000 returned. Some 31,000 humanitarian aid vehicles were introduced into the country,” he said.

He noted that border guards on the western border practice a simplified regime of entry and exit of citizens with the countries of the European Union and with Moldova.

“As part of the restoration of control of the state border in the regions of Kiev, Chernihiv and Sumy freed from the occupiers, our border guards went to their positions of responsibility,” he added.

The Unian agency reported that in almost two months of war, 85 sabotage and reconnaissance groups were uncovered and 659 people were arrested.

According to figures from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 5.1 million people have left Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the order to start the invasion.

After traveling to Moscow to meet Putin, the UN Secretary General will go to Kiev to meet Zelensky

UN Secretary General António Guterres will travel to Kiev next Wednesday and will be received by Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky, a day after his trip to Moscow a day earlier, a statement from the United Nations spokesman reported today.

Guterres will not only see President Zelensky and his Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba; he will also meet with staff of UN agencies to discuss “how to optimize humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine.”

Hours before this announcement, the Secretary General had reported on his trip to Moscow next Tuesday, where he would hold “a working meeting” with the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, before being received by Putin.

Although it has not been described as a “mediation” mission, this is Guterres' first trip to the two countries involved in war since mid-February, when Russia launched its troops against eastern and northern Ukraine, triggering the largest refugee movement in Europe for several decades.

Just a week ago, Guterres proposed to Putin and Zelensky an “easter truce” on the occasion of the Orthodox Easter that began yesterday and will continue until Sunday, but received no response from Russia.

The UN as a whole has been called into question during the war in Ukraine because of its inability to stop the war or achieve even a truce or agreement for “humanitarian corridors”, mainly because of Russia's right of veto in the Security Council as one of its permanent members.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, regretted late this Thursday that Russia has rejected the proposal proposed by the United Nations to establish a truce during Orthodox Easter, which is celebrated next April 24.

“This shows very well how the leaders of this state really treat the Christian faith, one of the most joyful and important holidays,” Zelensky said in his usual evening speech, as recorded in a presidential statement.

Russia rejected UN Secretary-General António Guterres's proposal to declare a four-day humanitarian ceasefire during Orthodox Easter to remove civilians from Mariupol and bring humanitarian aid to war-torn areas.

On the other hand, Zelensky reiterated during his speech his thanks to the partners for providing aid to Ukraine and assured that the port city of Mariupol resists the invasion of Russian troops.

(With information from EFE)

KEEP READING: