Key points
- Over 4.3 million Ukrainians are under temporary protection in EU countries.
- The largest communities of Ukrainians under protection are in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.
- The highest figures per thousand inhabitants have been recorded in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.
- In 2025, the EU approved over 680,000 new decisions on temporary protection for Ukrainians.
- The Ukrainian authorities are preparing for the potential end of the programme in March 2027 and are developing support mechanisms for citizens abroad.
More than 4.3 million Ukrainians forced to leave the country because of the war are currently under temporary protection in European Union countries. This was reported by Ilona Havronska, Deputy Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine for European Integration, citing data from the EU statistical office Eurostat.
The largest numbers of Ukrainians under protection are in Germany – over 1.26 million, Poland – nearly 966,000, and the Czech Republic – more than 397,000.
The highest figures per thousand residents are recorded in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, while the EU average stands at 9.7 per thousand inhabitants.
During 2025, EU countries adopted more than 683,000 decisions to grant temporary protection to Ukrainian citizens, which is 14% fewer than in the previous year.
As of the end of January 2026, the number of Ukrainian citizens with this status in the EU had increased by more than 23,000 compared with December 2025.
According to Ilona Havronska, the security situation remains a key factor influencing Ukrainians’ decisions about returning home. At the same time, the state is already preparing for possible changes related to the potential end of the temporary protection scheme in March 2027.
She added that work is underway on tools to maintain contact with Ukrainians abroad and to prepare for a possible return. Among the initiatives are the development of the Unity Network, the opening of Unity Centres and spaces, as well as the launch of a digital platform that will provide Ukrainians abroad with access to verified and up-to-date information.
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5.6 million Ukrainians abroad — new data from CES research
