The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Thursday, March 3, that 874,026 people have fled Ukraine, more than half of which have fled to Poland, according to its count. According to the UNHCR, 453,982 Ukrainians have fled to Poland, 116,348 people to Hungary and 79,315 to Moldova. The agency said 69,600 people have fled to other European nations.

   On Thursday, Feb 24, Russia unleashed a full-scale invasion on Ukraine. They launched airstrikes on military bases and cities, sending in troops and tanks from 3 different sides. Civilians were piled into trains and cars as Ukraine begged for support.

   Global condemnations and sanctions were thrown at Russia, only to be ignored by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who threatened anyone who tried to interfere with “consequences you have never seen”.

   Ukrainian officials have said that their forces were battling Russians on multiple fronts, had suffered dozens of deaths and had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters.

   Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has since spoken out about this on Twitter, stating “Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won’t give up its freedom”.

   President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin “Chose this war” and that his country would bear the consequences of his actions. South Korea, Australia and others have also prepared sanctions against Russia.

   Fearing a Russian attack on the capital city, thousands of Ukrainian citizens went deep underground into their subway stations with their families.

   Zelenskyy, who earlier had cut diplomatic ties with Moscow and claimed martial law, declaring “If you don’t help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will come knock on your door.”

   As of Friday, Feb 25, Russia is aiming to take over Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital and biggest city, with a population of about 2.884 million people. Roughly 18,000 guns with ammunition have been distributed to reservists in Kyiv alone and all men ages 18-60 are banned from leaving Ukraine.

   President Biden has also officially confirmed sanctions aimed directly against Putin and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, the White House confirmed on Friday.