Passenger traffic across Ukraine’s western border during the week of May 16–22 increased by 2.3% to 496,000; with outbound traffic, as is typical for the second half of May, slightly exceeding inbound traffic, according to daily statistics from the State Border Service monitored by the agency “Interfax-Ukraine.”
According to these figures, the number of outbound border crossings rose to 253,000 from 245,000 the previous week, while the number of inbound crossings rose to 243,000 from 240,000.
The number of vehicles that passed through checkpoints this week matched the previous week’s figure—119,000—while the number of vehicles carrying humanitarian cargo decreased to 447 from 480.
According to the State Border Guard Service, as of 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, there were relatively short lines of passenger cars exiting the country at only three checkpoints: “Ustyluh” on the border with Poland—20 cars, “Uzhhorod” on the border with Slovakia – 10 vehicles, and “Tisa” on the border with Hungary – 6 vehicles.
At the same time, border guards recommend taking into account the possible instability of electronic systems used by control services at border crossing points when planning trips.
Last year, passenger traffic during this week was nearly the same—499,000—but vehicle traffic was slightly higher—125,000. The following week saw a slight increase of 1.4%, while the first week of June saw a jump of 13.2%.
As reported, starting May 10, 2022, the outflow of refugees from Ukraine, which began with the start of the war, shifted to an inflow that lasted until September 23, 2022, and totaled 409,000 people. However, since late September—possibly influenced by news of mobilization in Russia and “pseudo-referendums” in the occupied territories, followed by massive shelling of energy infrastructure—the number of people leaving has exceeded the number of those entering. In total, from the end of September 2022 until the first anniversary of the full-scale war, this figure reached 223,000 people.
In the second year of the full-scale war, the number of border crossings out of Ukraine, according to the State Border Guard Service, exceeded the number of crossings into the country by 25,000; in the third year, by 187,000; and in the fourth year, by 221,000, while in the period since the start of the fifth year, the inflows and outflows are currently equal.
In its April inflation report, the National Bank maintained its estimate of 0.2 million people migrating from Ukraine last year due to the deterioration of the security situation at the end of the year and the easing of exit rules for young people, but noted that this figure will be less than 0.5 million in 2024. The NBU continues to forecast a net outflow of 0.2 million in 2026, while net returns, according to its forecast, will begin in 2027 and amount to about 0.1 million people, increasing to 0.5 million people in 2028.
At the same time, after a brief pause, the UNHCR announced new data on the number of Ukrainian refugees, according to which the number in Europe as of April 30, 2026, had decreased to 5.213 million from 5.375 million on February 19, and globally to 5.762 million from 5.924 million.
In Ukraine itself, according to the latest UN data for January 2026, there were 3.70 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), compared to 3.34 million in July and 3.76 million in April 2025.
