Ukraine conflict: UN says million people have fled

Many of those leaving Ukraine have crossed the border into Russia

More than a million people have left their homes because of the escalating conflict in eastern Ukraine, a UN official says.

In the past three weeks alone, the number of people displaced inside Ukraine itself has doubled to at least 260,000, according to the UN's Vincent Cochetel in Geneva.

Another 814,000 people have crossed the border into Russia this year, he says.

Pro-Russian rebels have been fighting Ukrainian forces since April.

Separatists in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk declared independence after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine.

Since the violence erupted, some 2,600 people have been killed and thousands more wounded. The city of Luhansk has been under siege for the past month and without proper supplies of food and water.

In early August, the UN refugee agency said 117,000 people were displaced in Ukraine but it says that number has climbed dramatically, and could be even higher as many of those affected are unregistered and staying with family and friends.

Ukraine's million displaced - by Imogen Foulkes, Geneva

Many of those who have fled the violence have not registered with the Ukrainian authorities: doing so does not guarantee they will receive any aid, and some young men apparently fear they will be recruited into the Ukrainian army if they declare themselves.

At the same time over 800,000 Ukrainians, mainly ethnic Russians, have crossed the border into Russia. Others are fleeing to Poland, Belarus, or the Baltic states.

The UN has figures from one Baltic country, though it will not say which one, indicating that at least 20,000 Ukrainians have recently arrived.

Russia says some 814,000 people have used its visa-free regime since January

The UN also says that there has been a decline in the use of humanitarian corridors set up by the Ukrainian authorities because of a series of fatal attacks on civilians.

In the past few days, an estimated 10,000 people have fled the southern port city of Mariupol since pro-Russian rebels captured areas close to the Russian border.

Russia denies Ukrainian and Western accusations that it is providing troops and equipment to the rebels.

It says 814,000 people have arrived from Ukraine this year under a visa-free regime.

Of these, 121,000 have applied for temporary asylum or refugee status. The UN says most Ukrainians in Russia are staying with relatives and friends or finding private accommodation.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres has warned that if the crisis is not stopped quickly "it will have not only devastating humanitarian consequences but it also has the potential to destabilise the whole region".