More than 3.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine and 6.5 million have been internally displaced

About 6.5 million people have been displaced inside Ukraine as a direct result of the war, the United Nations migration agency said, while the United Nations said 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine.

About 6.5 million people have been displaced within Ukraine as a direct result of the war, the United Nations migration agency said on Monday, citing an investigation it conducted from March 9-16.

“The scale of human suffering and forced displacement due to the war far exceeds worst-case scenario planning,” said IOM Director-General Antonio Vitorino, adding that IOM teams are providing assistance to thousands of people, but it is still difficult to reach those in the worst-affected areas.

3.5 million refugees

About 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, the United Nations said Monday. Ten million people, or about a quarter of Ukraine's population, have left their homes to escape the "devastating" war waged by Russia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.

- 3,489,644 refugees

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) counted 3,489,644 people who have fled Ukraine, in the latest update of the numbers around 12:00 GMT, an increase of 100,600 people since the last census Sunday.

About 90% of those who fled are women and children. As for men between the ages of 18 and 60, the state may call them to fight, so they must stay in their country.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) confirmed that more than 1.5 million children have fled.

According to the United Nations International Organization for Migration, about 186,000 third-country nationals have fled Ukraine.

Europe has not seen such a rapid influx of refugees since World War II.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has predicted that four million people will leave Ukraine, fleeing the war.

Before the invasion, Ukraine had about 37 million people in the areas under Ukrainian control, that is, excluding Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and the pro-Russian separatist areas in eastern Ukraine.

Near the Algerian border, Morocco reveals joint military exercises with France

The General Command of the Moroccan Armed Forces revealed in a statement Monday that Moroccan-French military exercises are taking place until March 25 in the Rashidieh region located in the new military "eastern region" that Morocco recently established along its border with Algeria.

The Moroccan army revealed on Monday that it will conduct a continuous air and ground military exercise with its French counterpart in the Errachidia region, in the southeast of the Kingdom, ending on March 25th.

The Army General Command said in a statement, "A Moroccan-French air and ground military exercise is being conducted in the Rashidiya area from Fatih (initially) to March 25."

The maneuvers have been taking place since March 1 in Errachidia, located in the new military "eastern region" recently established by Morocco along its border with Algeria.

The General Command stated that "the planning work for this training has been carried out jointly by the military officials of the two countries, since last September."

And “Sharki 2022” is an exercise “carried out within the framework of the tasks of defending the territorial integrity, and aims to enhance planning capabilities and develop technical and operational interoperability between the Royal Armed Forces and the French army,” according to the statement.

These exercises are carried out periodically within the framework of military cooperation between the two countries, according to the French embassy in Morocco.

The most recent was from May 23 to June 3, 2021 in the Ouarzazate region in southern Morocco.

The embassy added that France had deployed air capabilities in "Sharki 2022", including the 4th Air Combat Brigade, elements of the Marine Corps, armored vehicles, and six Gazelle, Puma and Cayman helicopters.

The establishment of the new Moroccan military zone came at a time of tension between Rabat and Algeria, particularly over Western Sahara and the recent rapprochement between Morocco and Israel.

In light of the Ukrainian war, the European Union adopts a new defense and security action plan

The Council of the European Union said that the bloc's foreign ministers approved a new defense and security strategy, in light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine for nearly a month.

European Union foreign ministers on Monday approved a new defense and security strategy, as the conflict in Ukraine has been going on for nearly a month.

The Council of the European Union said in a statement that the document, officially called the "Strategic Compass", sets out an ambitious action plan to strengthen the European Union's security and defense policy by 2030.

He explained that the plan aims to make the European Union "a more robust and enabling security provider" in a way that is complementary to NATO's commitments.

The Council indicated that the Union will establish a "rapid deployment force" of 5,000 soldiers, and appoint a reserve of 200 fully equipped security and defense experts, who will be deployed within 30 days to work in international crises.

The document states that the armies of EU member states will also conduct "live and regular exercises on land and at sea" and work to develop their capabilities against cyber attacks, hybrid threats and disinformation, according to the council statement.

The consortium will also work on developing a space security strategy, according to the same statement.

The document also identifies partnerships with “like-minded countries and strategic partners, such as the United States, Canada, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Japan,” as well as organizations such as NATO, the United Nations, the Organization for Security Cooperation and Development in Europe (OSCE), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

EU member states are also committed to significantly increasing their defense expenditures and supporting the European defense industry, according to the document.

It is expected that the heads of state and government of the European Union ratify the document at their summit, which begins next Thursday, and will last for two days.