Ukrainians have started leaving Poland — their numbers are growing in other EU countries

Poland has become the main exception amid the overall increase in the number of Ukrainians under temporary protection in the European Union. In June, their number in the country decreased by 6,335 people to 961.2 thousand.

This is the largest monthly decline among EU countries. In percentage terms, the number of Ukrainians in Poland decreased by about 0.7%.

Numbers of Ukrainians are growing in Germany, Czechia and Italy

In most other EU countries, the situation is the opposite. The number of Ukrainians increased especially noticeably in Italy — by 4,115 people, or roughly 8.8% in a month.

Czechia added 3,835 people, and Germany added 2,960.

Apart from Poland, insignificant declines occurred only in Belgium and Ireland — by 35 and 15 people, respectively.

Germany remains the largest center for Ukrainians under temporary protection in the EU — about 1.29 million people. Poland is second with 961 thousand, Czechia is third with nearly 391 thousand.

Poland remains one of the main countries for Ukrainians

Despite the June decline, it is too early to speak of a mass exodus of Ukrainians from Poland. Over a month, the number of temporary protection recipients decreased by less than 1%.

However, the trend stands out against the backdrop of nearly the entire EU, where the number of Ukrainians continues to grow. This may indicate a gradual redistribution of Ukrainian refugees among EU countries.

At the same time, Eurostat statistics only show the change in the number of people under temporary protection and does not explain the reasons for their relocation. Therefore, one cannot yet directly link the decline in Poland to worsening Polish-Ukrainian relations or to more frequent anti-Ukrainian incidents.

In total, as of the end of June, around 4.41 million people who left Ukraine were under temporary protection in EU countries.

Source: Eurostat