Business news from Ukraine

Passenger traffic across Ukraine’s western border increased by 7.6% during the week of June 6–12, reaching 596,000: With the end of the school year and the onset of summer, the flow of travelers from Ukraine traditionally increases at this time, according to daily statistics from the State Border Service, which are monitored by the agency “Interfax-Ukraine.”

According to these statistics, the number of outbound border crossings rose to 340,000 from 292,000 the previous week, while the number of inbound crossings, conversely, decreased slightly—to 256,000 from 262,000.

The number of vehicles passing through checkpoints also rose this week—to 127,000 from 125,000 last week—while the number of vehicles carrying humanitarian cargo remained unchanged at 469.

According to the State Border Guard Service, as of 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, the largest number of passenger cars were waiting to cross the border with Poland at the “Ustyluh” and “Krakivets” checkpoints—40 and 35, respectively. Smaller lines were observed at the “Nizhankovychi” CP—15 vehicles, and at the ‘Ugryniv’ and “Rava-Ruska” CPs—10 each.

At the border with Hungary, 28–20 passenger cars were waiting to cross at the “Luzhanka,” “Kosino,” “Tisa,” and “Dzvinkove” checkpoints.

At the border with Slovakia, there was a line of 15 cars at the Maly Berezny checkpoint, while 10 cars were waiting to cross at the Uzhgorod checkpoint.

At the border with Romania, according to the State Border Guard Service, vehicles had accumulated at only one checkpoint, “Dyakivtsi” – 34, while there were no lines at the other checkpoints, as was the case at the border with Moldova.

Last year, passenger traffic across the border during this week was nearly the same—600,000—and was similarly driven by a seasonal increase in outbound crossings from Ukraine (334,000). The number of vehicles last year also matches this year’s figure—127,000. The following three weeks saw further growth, totaling an additional 25%.

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, totaling 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 late 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 Service, exceeded the number of crossings into the country by 25,000; in the third year, by 187,000; in the fourth, by 221,000; and since the start of the fifth year, by 125,000.

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 would 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 figure 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.