Last Bridge To Kyiv To Be Blown Up To Halt Russian Advance

The last bridge standing between advancing Russian soldiers and Kyiv may soon be blown up to delay the advance of the invaders, armed Ukrainian volunteers insist, even as more than 66,000 Ukrainians living abroad have joined the resistance, along with more than 1,000 foreign ex-soldiers who brought with them weapons and their experience in warfare, Dmitry Zaks reported for Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Photo Insert: There is another Russian push, albeit a less direct approach, on the east bank of Kyiv's Dnipro River.

Sabrina Blanchard also reported for AFP on Sunday, Mar. 6, that a total of 1,534,792 refugees have left Ukraine by 9:35 p.m., Manila time, which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said was almost 166,000 more than the previous count on Saturday.

Authorities and the UN expect the flow to intensify as the Russian army continues to advance into Ukraine, particularly as it approaches Kyiv.

"More than 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine have crossed into neighboring countries in 10 days -- the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II," the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, tweeted.

According to the UN, four million people may seek to leave the country to escape the war out of the 37 million people in areas controlled by Kyiv -- which does not include Russian-annexed Crimea or separatist-controlled areas.

In total, there were 885,303 refugees in Poland on Sunday, according to the UNHCR count -- 129,000 more than on Saturday and 57.7 percent of the total number recorded to have fled. Polish border guards said they had registered 922,400 refugees by Sunday.

Hungary has taken in 169,053 people, or 11 percent of the total, and more than 12,000 more than the previous day, according to the UNHCR. Some 113,967 people have fled Ukraine for Slovakia, or 7.4 percent of the total, the UNHCR says.

Some 84,067 people, or 5.5 percent of the total, have crossed into Moldova, which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting on Sunday. In Romania, the UNHCR has registered 71,640 refugees or about 4.7 percent of the total.

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