Photo gallery: Eyes of Ukraine refugees reflect war and welcome

Associated Press
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 9:21 a.m. | Wednesday, April 20, 2022 9:21 a.m.

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Displaced Ukrainians on a Poland-bound train bid farewell in Lviv, western Ukraine, Tuesday, March 22, 2022.

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People who fled the war in Ukraine rest inside an indoor sports stadium being used as a refugee center, in the village of Medyka, a border crossing between Poland and Ukraine, on March 15, 2022.

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An internally displaced child holding a pet cat looks out from a bus at a refugee center in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 25, 2022.

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Refugee children look out from a bus leaving to Romania after fleeing the war from neighbouring Ukraine, at the border crossing in Palanca, Moldova, Friday, March 11, 2022.

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A child refugee fleeing the war from neighboring Ukraine with her family grimaces as she sits in a bus after crossing the border by ferry at the Isaccea-Orlivka border crossing, in Romania, Friday, March 25, 2022.

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A man is bundled in a blanket as he waits in a queue after fleeing the war from neighboring Ukraine, at the border crossing in Medyka, southeastern Poland, on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.

The United Nations’ refugee agency says more than 5 million people have left Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country almost eight weeks ago.

The Geneva-based U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Wednesday that data from official border crossing points put the total number of war refugees at 5.03 million. About half are believed to be children.

The exodus started with wrenching goodbyes soon after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion. With most men prohibited from leaving so they would be available to fight, fathers put their young families on trains, and sons packed up the cars of older relatives, none knowing when they would see each other next.

European Union countries welcomed the arrivals from Ukraine with sympathy, soup, baby strollers and blankets. More than half of the total number of refugees, over 2.8 million, arrived first in Poland.

Although many have stayed there, an unknown number have traveled on to other European countries. After reaching 4 million on March 30, the tide of people leaving Ukraine has slowed somewhat in recent weeks. Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine this week may cause more to flee.