Minister: Turkey hosts over 58,000 refugees from Ukraine

Refugees waiting to cross into Poland. (Photo: AA)

More than 58,000 people from Ukraine fleeing Russia's war on their country have arrived in Turkey, Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu has announced.

Turkey, which hosts over 3.7 million refugees from Syria and the world's largest refugee host, "never discriminates against refugees based on their country of origin or ethnicity," the minister told TV NET on Monday (March 21) in a live interview.

Migration could not be slowed down as long as peace was not established in the region, added Soylu.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, nearly a quarter of Ukraine's population of 41 million have been displaced during the war.

While about 6.5 million people have been displaced in Ukraine, about 3.5 million have sought refuge abroad, with more than two million taking shelter in Poland, according to the agency.

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Russia's invasion of Ukraine

On February 24, explosions were reported in several Ukrainian provinces, including the capital Kyiv, after Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced a 'special military operation' in the Donbas region.

Tensions had started escalating late last year when Ukraine, the US and its allies accused Russia of amassing tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine. They claimed Russia was preparing to invade its western neighbor, which was consistently rejected by Moscow.

Defying threats of sanctions by the West, Moscow officially recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states in late February, followed by the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin said the operation aims to protect people "subjected to genocide" by Kyiv and to "demilitarize and de-Nazify" Ukraine, while calling on the Ukrainian army to lay down its arms.

At least 925 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the war, while nearly 1,500 others have been injured, according to the UN estimates. (VK)