In June, 210,000 more people left Ukraine than returned
In the first half of 2026, Ukrainians crossed the state border 14.01 million times. June was the busiest month, when the number of crossings rose sharply, and the difference between departures and returns exceeded 210,000 people.
In total, from January through June 2026, the State Border Guard Service recorded 16.23 million official border crossings.
This figure remained virtually unchanged compared to the same period in 2025.
Ukrainian citizens accounted for 86% of all border crossings—14.01 million. Of these, 7.13 million were departures from Ukraine, while 6.89 million were returns.
Thus, since the beginning of the year, the number of departures by Ukrainians has exceeded the number of returns by 244,300. For comparison, during the same period in 2025, the difference was 251,000.
On average, during the first half of the year, Ukrainians crossed the state border 2.34 million times per month. At the same time, the figures varied significantly depending on the season.
The lowest number of border crossings in the first half of the year was recorded in February—1.7 million.
By early summer, activity had risen sharply. In June, Ukrainians crossed the state border 3.17 million times, which is 36% more than the average monthly figure for the first half of the year.
At the same time, June accounted for the bulk of the difference between the number of departures and returns.
During June, 210,900 more citizens left Ukraine than returned.
Thus, June accounted for over 86% of the total difference between departures and returns of Ukrainians during the first six months of 2026.
Despite a noticeable seasonal increase in the number of border crossings at the beginning of summer, the overall figure for the first half of the year remained roughly at last year’s level.
This is according to data from OpenDataBot.
As a reminder, the European Union has stated that the proposed changes to the temporary protection rules will not affect Ukrainians who are already in EU countries. This refers to men who left before the new rules took effect and already have this status. For them, the rules remain unchanged.
Ukraine and Germany are working within a joint working group to develop mechanisms for the return of Ukrainians of military age who left the country illegally. However, the details of these mechanisms have not yet been disclosed.
