Chernivtsi and Transcarpathian regions accounted for 67% of all reports for illegal crossings or attempted illegal crossings of Ukraine’s state border in the first half of 2026.
According to data from the State Border Guard Service cited by OpenDataBot, 2,834 reports were filed in Bukovina over the six-month period, or 38% of the total. Another 2,170 reports, or 29%, were filed in Zakarpattia Oblast.
The Odesa region ranks third, with 997 reports, or 13%.
Thus, the Chernivtsi, Zakarpattia, and Odesa regions alone account for 80% of all recorded violations.
The situation has changed particularly significantly in the Chernivtsi region. The number of reports there is now approximately 30 times higher than it was before the start of the full-scale war. For the past two years, Bukovina has ranked first in the country in terms of the number of such violations.
Until 2022, the Odesa and Zakarpattia regions were the main leaders in this regard.
A significant increase has also been recorded in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. Before the full-scale war, not a single such report was filed there; in 2022, there were only five, but by 2024, that number had risen to 1,209.
In 2025, 1,109 reports were filed in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, and in the first half of 2026 alone—there were already 377.
Across Ukraine, border guards filed 7,523 reports from January through June, which is about one-third fewer than during the same period last year.
Despite the decline, the frequency of such violations remains nearly ten times higher than pre-war levels. Before the full-scale war in Ukraine, approximately 2,700 reports were filed annually, whereas now an average of about 1,250 are filed per month.
However, the filing of a report does not automatically mean that a person is found guilty. Such cases are heard by the courts.
In 2025, the courts heard 24,519 cases under Article 204-1 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses. Fines were imposed on 12,628 individuals, while 10,493 cases—or 43%—were dismissed due to the absence of an incident or the elements of an administrative offense.
The total amount of fines imposed was 85.97 million UAH, but only 24 million UAH—or 28%—was paid voluntarily.
Source: OpenDataBot, based on data from the State Border Guard Service and the State Judicial Administration, published on August 28, 2026.
BORDER, Bukovina, MIGRATION, Transcarpathia, UKRAINE
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