At least 6 million people have already left Ukraine because of the war

The scale of migration from Ukraine has reached critical levels: according to international organizations, about 6 million people have left the country because of the fighting.

This opinion was expressed by demographer Oleksandr Hladun.

Hladun уточнил that 57% of the refugees are women, while the share of men is somewhat lower. At the same time, the expert noted that the war only intensified a trend that had already existed for years.

Oleksandr Hladun pointed out that even before the start of the full-scale aggression, a significant number of Ukrainians had already firmly settled in Europe. As of February 2022, more than 1.5 million Ukrainian citizens already had official permanent residence permits in EU countries. In Hladun’s view, such figures indicate that the reasons for emigration are also linked to internal problems in Ukraine.

“As for what is connected with the war, according to various estimates by international organizations, around 6 million people have left. More than half, 57%, are women, and somewhat fewer are men. But here one must keep in mind that, for example, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, more than one and a half million Ukrainians already had residence permits in European Union countries. That is also a colossal figure, a very large one,” the demographer emphasized.

The specialist noted that Ukrainians go where they see better prospects for life and development. This concerns not only income levels, but also the stability of the legal system and broader opportunities for self-realization.

“I don’t know whether life will in fact be better for them there or not, but that motivation exists. A person will not go somewhere where conditions are worse. In other words, they see that Europe offers better opportunities for self-realization. Perhaps the legal system works better there. And so on. These are the issues that need to be studied so that internal reforms can be carried out, and so that people do not leave our country,” Oleksandr Hladun concluded.

As noted in reports by media, most European countries have begun reducing support programs for Ukrainian refugees. In the EU, there are growing demands that Ukrainians find work and pay for their own housing.

In addition, the EU has begun reviewing which categories of Ukrainians it still considers eligible for such assistance. However, it still has not reached agreement on how and when to wind down the support program.

Meanwhile, financial analyst Oleksii Kushch said in an interview with Novyny.LIVE that after the war, the majority of Ukraine’s population will be women. Separately, Ella Libanova, director of the Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, said that the demographic crisis is worsening. Population aging has begun accelerating rapidly, while the birth rate is falling.