UN says some 660,000 fled Ukraine so far amid Russian invasion

The UN refugee agency says that about 660,000 people have fled Ukraine for neighbouring countries since the Russian invasion began.

The number, given on Tuesday, was up from a count of more than 500,000 a day earlier.

Shabia Mantoo, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in Geneva that at this rate, the situation looks set to become Europe's largest refugee crisis this century.

She said the agency is urging governments to continue allowing access to all those who are fleeing, including third-country nationals living in Ukraine who are forced to escape the violence. She added: We stress that there must be no discrimination against any person or group.

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Berlin: The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe says some of its observers in Ukraine are trapped in Kharkiv and Kherson due to fighting in those cities.

The Vienna-based organisation announced Friday it was evacuating members of the monitoring mission from Ukraine.

In its latest report, published late Monday, the OSCE said due to ongoing kinetic activity, including continued shelling and reports of fighting, as well as the dynamic movement of front lines, the monitoring teams located in the cities of Kharkiv and Kherson continue to shelter in place.

The teams are conducting dynamic security risk assessments to establish a window to allow them to move safely, it added.

The OSCE said its chief Monitor and senior management would remain in Ukraine until the evacuation process was complete. The mission comprising some 500 observers was tasked with monitoring the line of contact between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.

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Geneva: The UN human rights office called Tuesday for the release of all peaceful protesters who were arrested after taking part in anti-war demonstrations in Russia.

The Geneva-based office said reports suggested about 6,400 people have been arrested in Russia since last week for taking part in peace protests.

We understand the vast majority are released within hours, many after paying an administrative fine, while some are given prison sentences ranging from seven to 25 days under various laws, it said. There are also reports of unnecessary and excessive use of force by police during and after the arrests.

Arresting people solely for exercising their rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty, it added. We call for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained and for the authorities to abide by their international obligations to respect and ensure the rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly.

Separately, it also urged the release of some 744 people detained in neighboring Belarus, saying some had been arrested for chanting no war and expressing support for Ukraine.

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Geneva: The Red Cross is appealing for 250 million Swiss francs ($272 million) to help people affected by the war in Ukraine.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Cross federation said in a statement Tuesday they fear millions of people face extreme hardship and suffering without improved access and a rapid increase in humanitarian assistance.

Casualty figures keep rising while health facilities struggle to cope, said the head of the ICRC, Robert Mardini.

We already see long-term disruptions in regular water and electricity supplies, he added. People calling our hotline in Ukraine are desperately in need of food and shelter.

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Rome: The Italian ambassador to Ukraine has been sheltering 87 Italians, including children and newborns, in his home in Kyiv.

Italian Premier Mario Draghi told Parliament on Tuesday said most of those being sheltered should be leaving today for Lviv, a city in western Ukraine.

Unlike several other Western countries, Italy kept its embassy services functioning in Ukraine's capital in the run-up to the invasion by Russia but moved the embassy to the ambassador's residence.

There are some 2,300 Italians in Ukraine, more than half of them residents of the country.