People are evacuated from the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

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

The vast majority were Ukrainians but the influx also included citizens of many other countries including Afghanistan, Algeria, the United States and Uzbekistan.

Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and some European Union (EU) countries are stopping points for the flow of evacuees.