Impact on demographics: An expert assesses the scale of refugee departures from Ukraine.

Currently, there are approximately 7.7 million Ukrainian refugees abroad, with 5.3 million residing in EU countries. This poses a significant challenge for the proper functioning of the state.

This was stated by Alexey Poznyak, a senior researcher at the M.V. Ptukha Institute of Demography and Social Studies and a candidate of economic sciences, in an interview with RBK-Ukraine.

The data released by the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Verkhovna Rada on the protection of the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) indicates a substantial outflow of the population.

At the same time, Poznyak noted that Eurostat provides somewhat lower figures, as its statistics only cover those Ukrainians who left the country after the onset of the full-scale invasion in 2022 and are under temporary protection in EU countries.

"These are quite large scales. And this is a serious blow both to demographics and to the ability to supply the economy with labor, and generally just to the normal functioning of the state. This is a very serious problem," - emphasized Poznyak.

Ukrainian Refugees in the EU

As of December 25, 2024, according to Eurostat, approximately 4.19 million Ukrainians who have received temporary protection due to the war are in European Union countries.

In June 2024, the EU Council decided to extend temporary protection for Ukrainians until 2026, which provides them access to housing, healthcare, education, and the labor market in EU countries.

Overall, EU countries continue to support Ukrainian refugees, providing them with necessary conditions for temporary residence and integration into European society.

However, Ukraine is working on encouraging citizens to return home. For instance, as previously reported by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the authorities are already addressing the issue of returning Ukrainians from Germany.

Additionally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently noted that the government is striving to create positive incentives for the voluntary return of Ukrainians home.