Exodus from Ukraine

GENEVA (Reuters) - About 730,000 Ukrainians have left the country for Russia this year, the European head of the United Nations agency for refugees said on Tuesday, citing data compiled by Russia.

The figure, which the UNHCR said it had assessed as reliable, excluded people who would normally have crossed the border for trade or tourism purposes, the agency's European director Vincent Cochetel told a news briefing.

"The 730,000, it's the 'plus' compared to other years," he said. "...Sometimes they just walk across the border, they come with plastic bags. Many of them are really destitute."

The figure suggests this year's exodus from Ukraine is bigger than previously thought.

The UNHCR did not break down its headline figure by ethnic group, though Cochetel said a "wind of panic" was driving civilians away as the Ukrainian army closes in on major eastern cities held by separatist forces.

Much of Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine has since April been a battleground between government troops and pro-Russian separatists, many of whom are ethnic Russians.

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