GENEVA, May 24. /TASS/. A total of 8,249,055 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in European countries since Russia launched its special military operation, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday.

According to the information available to the UNHCR, the number has increased by 8,766 over the past week.

The UNHCR said that between February 24, 2022 and May 23, 2023, the biggest number of 2,852,395 people sought refuge in Russia. It is followed by Poland (1,605,738), Germany (1,061,623), the Czech Republic (520,234), the UK (204,700), Spain (179,884), Italy (175,107), Bulgaria (159,225), Romania (132,362), France (118,994), Slovakia (116,718) and Moldova (108,889). The number does not exceed 100,000 people in other states. As many as 5,246,661 refugees are included in national temporary protection and support programs.

According to the UNHCR, 21,924,285 people have arrived in neighboring countries from Ukraine since February 24, 2022. At the same time, 13,060,039 people have crossed the border back.