GENEVA, January 26. /TASS/. A total of 7,996,573 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 18,593 over the past week.

The UNHCR said that between February 24, 2022 and January 24, 2023, the biggest number of 2,852,395 people sought refuge in Russia. It is followed by Poland (1,563,386), Germany (1,021,667), the Czech Republic (483,620), Italy (169,306), Spain (161,012), the UK (157,300), Bulgaria (151,332), France (118,994), Romania (109,413), Slovakia (107,203), and Moldova (102,160). The figure does not exceed 100,000 people in other states. As many as 4,952,938 refugees are included in national temporary protection and support programs.

According to the UNHCR, 17,923,566 people have arrived in neighboring countries from Ukraine since February 24. At the same time, 9,770,241people crossed the border into Ukraine.