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Hundreds of thousands more refugees expected from Ukraine: Norwegian Refugee Council

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Because of "unliveable" circumstances, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, (NRC), expects another wave to arrive in Europe this winter with hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees, he said on Monday (12 December).

Millions of people have been left without heat, electricity or clean water by Russia's attack on Ukraine's electrical infrastructure.

Moscow claims the attacks do not target civilians, but are intended to limit Ukraine's ability fight and encourage it to negotiate. The attacks are considered a war crime by Kyiv.

Jan Egeland, who returned from a trip in Ukraine earlier this month, said that no one knows how many but that there will be hundreds and thousands more (leaving Ukraine). "The horrific and illegal bombing of civilian infrastructure has made life difficult in too many places," Egeland said.

He added: "So I fear the crisis in Europe would deepen and that that will overshadow equally serious crises elsewhere in the world."

According to the United Nations, around 18 million people (or 40%) are dependent on aid. Another 7.8 millions have fled the country to seek refuge in Europe.

A spokesperson for the U.N. refugee Agency (UNHCR), told Reuters via email that data has not yet indicated any significant rise in border crossings in recent weeks. She added that some neighboring countries like Poland and Romania have seen small increases.

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When asked about contingency planning for winter, the spokesperson of UNHCR stated that the agency was prepared for all possible scenarios, including an increase or decrease in the number of refugees and displacement.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Monday that Germany and Poland should seek more assistance from the European Union to deal with an anticipated increase in Ukrainian refugees.

Egeland stated that some Ukrainian refugees had returned to Ukraine this summer and were now "giving in" and moving the other direction.

The NRC is active in 35 countries and provides emergency and long-term assistance, including in Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, and neighboring countries.

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