Poland announced the number of Ukrainians who received protection after 2022

Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Poland has provided legal and financial protection to approximately 1.73 million refugees from Ukraine. This statistic includes Ukrainians who received a Polish PESEL number and the associated rights and social support.

This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland on X, recalling the scale of aid to Ukrainians after February 2022.

The Ministry emphasized that helping refugees meant not only providing temporary housing, but also the opportunity to rebuild their lives in Poland—to work, receive education, medical care, and social protection.

The figure of 1.73 million people is cited in the report “Polish Aid to Ukraine 2022–2023”, prepared with the participation of the Polish government. The document clarifies that this number refers to the total number of Ukrainian refugees covered by temporary protection in Poland in 2022–2023.

However, this figure does not mean that all 1.73 million people are currently still in Poland. It includes citizens who applied for a PESEL number and associated benefits during the relevant period.

Millions of Ukrainians gained access to work and healthcare

After the Russian invasion, Poland granted Ukrainian refugees the right to legal residence, access to the labor market, healthcare system, education, and social benefits.

Polish state institutions, local authorities, businesses, charitable organizations, and ordinary citizens also provided Ukrainians with housing and food, and helped with transportation and integration.

The scale of migration was especially noticeable in the first months of the war. Through Przemyśl alone, whose pre-war population was about 56,000 people, approximately 1.2 million refugees passed during the first five months after the invasion. More than 300,000 of them spent at least one night in the city.

The population of Rzeszów temporarily increased by more than half during the first three months of the full-scale war, and Warsaw's population increased by about 15% already in the first month.

Temporary protection for Ukrainians in Poland continues to be in effect today. For citizens of Ukraine with appropriate status, legal residence and related protection rights have been extended until March 4, 2027.