More than 8 million refugees: Ukrainians found shelter here A year of war in Ukraine: what now, Vladimir Putin?

The Russian offensive in Ukraine led to the largest refugee movement in Europe since World War II. Nearly 8.1 million people have left Ukraine since the conflict began on February 24, 2022, and another 5.4 million have been displaced within the country, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), according to the International Organization for UN Migration (IOM). This means that almost a third of Ukraine’s total pre-war population (43,734 million) left their ancestral homeland.

However, the number of refugees is likely to be significantly higher. According to UNHCR, there have been more than 18 million border crossings from Ukraine to neighboring countries and nearly 10 million back to Ukraine. It can be concluded from this that many refugees only took refuge outside the borders for a short time and then returned.

The number of internally displaced persons was also significantly higher in the summer, at around seven million. Since then, many Ukrainians have returned to their homes as a result of the Ukrainian reconquest. According to a recent UNHCR survey, 12 percent of those who have fled abroad plan to return to Ukraine in the next three months. 65 percent hope to return later, while 23 percent still doubt whether they have already given up hope of returning.

Poland and Germany as main destinations

The majority of the now almost 8.1 million refugees from Ukraine - about 90 percent of whom are women and children - found shelter in the EU. The main receiving country is Poland, where about 1.6 million displaced people are registered. Germany follows with more than a million refugees. With 80,773 admissions, Switzerland ranks among the top midfielders of all European countries.

Striking: So far, about 2.9 million refugees from Ukraine have been registered in Russia. Very few have migrated voluntarily, according to Ukrainian information: the country accuses its wartime opponent of having deported about two million Ukrainians to Russia.

The US State Department supports this view. According to his estimates, between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainian citizens, including 260,000 children, were forcibly taken to Russian territory last year. Russia calls these people war refugees and evacuees from the combat zones.