“In February 2026, nearly 4.4 million people from Ukraine had temporary protection status in the EU, and their number in EU countries increased by 0.5% over the last winter month. The three largest absolute increases were recorded in Germany, Czech Republic, and Spain”, - Euronews reported on April 21.
It is noted that the only EU countries where a decrease in the number of Ukrainian refugees was observed were Estonia, France, and Luxembourg.
Ukrainian citizens accounted for more than 98% of all persons under temporary protection in the EU. Among them, women made up 43.5%, minors about one third, and men approximately one quarter. The remaining citizens under temporary protection in the EU represent russia (0.3%), Nigeria (0.1%), and Azerbaijan (0.1%).
In total, since the start of russia’s full-scale aggression, the EU has provided temporary protection to nearly 7 million refugees from Ukraine. They are most actively represented in 24 countries.
Despite the risks, over the years of the war, more than 1.6 million people have returned to frontline areas of Ukraine — these are the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson, and Sumy oblasts. According to the organization Save the Children, for many, the financial burden associated with living in host countries and homesickness outweigh the threats. Thus, three quarters of the 172 parents and caregivers surveyed in the study named these factors as decisive for returning home.
Almost every second parent and guardian noted that children had difficulty adapting to the new place, experienced stress, or felt lonely in the host communities. In addition, about 55% cited high housing costs or difficulties finding work in host communities.
“Returning to a war zone is a choice no one makes lightly”, - said Sonia Khush of Save the Children in Ukraine. “Although people are relatively safe in host countries, many have found that they simply cannot survive financially while being away from familiar earning opportunities and support networks, and people also deeply miss the communities and connections they left behind”.