Some 368,000 refugees have fled fighting in Ukraine to neighboring countries since the Russian invasion unleashed on Thursday, and the number continues to rise, the United Nations indicated Sunday.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, stressed in a tweet that this figure "is based on data provided by national authorities."

Much of the refugees headed for Poland, where authorities have counted some 165,000 people since Thursday, the start of the invasion of neighboring Ukraine by Russian troops.

On Saturday, border guards said they had registered 77,300 arrivals in Poland from Ukraine.

Arriving by train, by car or even on foot, with few belongings, the refugees are taken in by relatives or by the device set up in Poland.

Other border countries, such as Moldova, Hungary, or even Slovakia and Romania, for example, are also places of retreat.

Russia on Thursday dawn launched a military offensive in Ukraine, with ground forces and shelling of targets in several cities, which has already led to about 200 deaths, including of civilians, and more than 1,100 wounded, on Ukrainian territory, according to Kiev.

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, quoted by Lusa, said that the "special military operation" in Ukraine aims to demilitarize the neighboring country and that it was the only way for Russia to defend itself, specifying the Kremlin that the offensive will last as long as necessary.

The attack was condemned by the international community in general and prompted emergency meetings of several governments, including the Portuguese government, and of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the EU, and the UN Security Council, and massive sanctions against Russia were approved.