Warnings that places are reaching capacity to house Ukrainian refugees after 10 million flee homes

Ten million people in Ukraine have now fled their homes following Russia’s full-scale invasion – as officials in some European countries warned they were reaching capacity to comfortably house refugees.

The 10 million figure includes nearly 3.5 million refugees who have left the war-torn country to escape Vladimir Putin’s attack, as well as civilians displaced within Ukraine, according to the United Nations.

In Poland, where more than two million Ukrainians have arrived, there have been queues for several days outside the national stadium, which has been converted into an office to register new arrivals.

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Officials in the capital Warsaw said its population of 1.8 million had increased by 17% due to the number of refugees arriving.

A Warsaw city council spokeswoman said: “We never know how many refugees will arrive.

“We have done everything we can and the next move is up to the government to implement a system and to build refugee towns.”

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In the Czech Republic, a government minister said the country was “balancing on the edge of capacities where we are able to provide comfortable living conditions”.

Czech interior minister Vit Rakusan said the government would seek to extend a state of emergency to deal with the influx of refugees.

He said officials were trying to relocate new arrivals to cities outside the capital Prague to ease the pressure.

“Living in gyms, sleeping bags, or campsites is not good for life,” he added.

At the Medyka crossing on Poland’s border with Ukraine, aid groups were preparing for a surge of refugees if humanitarian corridors allowed Ukrainians to escape cities under siege.

“We don’t know how many people and we don’t know when they will arrive,” a spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration said.

The European Union has allowed visa-free travel for Ukrainians fleeing the conflict.

Britain’s Home Office has said 8,600 visas have been issued under the UK’s family reunification scheme, out of a total of 53,600 started applications.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has defended the decision not to drop security checks on Ukrainian migrants, saying that Vladimir Putin might try to use women and children to infiltrate the UK.

She said: “I am afraid it is naive and misguided to think that only men can be covert operatives or that refugee flows would not be subjected to some form of exploitation.”

The separate Homes For Ukraine scheme allowing Britons to provide accommodation for someone fleeing the war zone opened on Friday.

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Filippo Grandi, the UN’s high commissioner for refugees, said: “Among the responsibilities of those who wage war, everywhere in the world, is the suffering inflicted on civilians who are forced to flee their homes.

“The war in Ukraine is so devastating that 10 million have fled – either displaced inside the country, or as refugees abroad.”

More than 900 civilians are known to have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s attack was launched on 24 February, the UN has said, with a further 1,459 civilians injured.

Most of the casualties were from explosive weapons such as shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, as well as missile and air strikes, it said.

The number of casualties is thought to be considerably higher, however, due to a lack of verified information coming from several hard-hit cities, including the besieged Mariupol, the UN’s human rights office said.

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