The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said on Monday that nearly 8 million people have had to flee Ukraine since theRussian invasion started, while another 5.3 million are internally displaced.
This is the largest refugee movement since the Second World War, according to the UN.
Griffiths, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told the UN Security Council in New York almost 40% of Ukraine's population are in need of humanitarian assistance.
To address the severe humanitarian crisis impacting 17.6 million people in the country, the UN said that it needs some €3.9 billion on behalf of the Humanitarian Response Plan for Ukraine.
The UN reports that since Russia's invasion of Ukraine started on February 24, 2022, more than 7,000 people have died.
"The actual toll is certainly higher," Griffiths said.
Here are other updates on the war in Ukraine on Monday, February 7:
Russia likely planning major offensive, Luhansk governor
Russia's military has likely tried to resume significant offensive operations in Ukraine since early January of this year, with the intention of seizing Ukraine-held portions of Donetsk, a British Defence Intelligence update said on Tuesday.
The assessment added that it was still doubtful that Russia would be able to amass the necessary troops in time to have a substantial impact on the outcome of the conflict.
Serhiy Haidai, Ukraine's governor of the mainly Russian-occupied Luhansk province, said they are seeing more reserves and equipment being brought in.
"They bring ammunition that is used differently than before — it is not round-the-clock shelling anymore. They are slowly starting to save, getting ready for a full-scale offensive," Haidai said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's spring offensive to recapture lost territories has been on hold awaiting the delivery of longer-range missiles and battle tanks from the West.
