Advertising
For Ukrainians, whose Russian invasion was to leave their homeland, on August 24, is of particular importance. The Independence Day of Ukraine is celebrated in a highly charged atmosphere by Diaspora members in Poland and in other places.
“We are a generation that is dying in order to continue in the fact that Ukraine will be independent. That is why this day is especially important for us. This day is important for those who fight in the trenches, because it reminds them of what they are fighting for – so that Ukraine is independent. This is the day when we used in Ukraine with large festivals, concerts, in central teams, in the goal. Ukrainian Independence Day in Warsaw.
Millions of Ukrainian refugees in Europe
UN data show that on July 1, 2025, 5.6 million people lived outside Ukraine. At the same time, according to the International Immigration Organization, 4.14 million Ukrainians who left at the beginning of the war had already returned home until April 1 of this year.
The Central Bank of Ukraine, on the other hand, in a recent report predicted that the rate of the return of Ukrainians to Ukraine was slow. Instead of 500,000 Ukrainians, who are expected to return to the country by 2027, now it provides only 100,000. At the same time, a new wave of immigration is provided in the report – it is expected that up to 400,000 people will leave the country for two years 2026-2027.
According to Natalia Panchenko, today about 2.5-3 million citizens of Ukrainian residents live in Poland, of which about a million were military refugees after a full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022. Poland and Europe, which support the country of war.
“Poland differs from other countries, because when the war began, it was not only the state, institutions and the system in which they acted. First of all, they were ordinary people who went to the border to pick up refugees who opened their homes to place them, this phenomenon for me even now, which is so tired that so much so that so not so much. You must take care of yourself – there is still a huge number of Polish organizations and ordinary people.
At the same time, the Ukrainian activist does not hide the fact that during the last election campaign in Poland there was more rhetoric of hatred, including anti -immigration and anti -Ukrainian slogans. He admits that recently he hears more often than Ukrainians in Poland, that they feel less safe and think about leaving. But they do not talk about returning to Ukraine, most people see their future in other Western countries.
Return after the war
In the spring of 2025, the Gremi Center for Gremi conducted a study between Ukrainian citizens living in Poland. The results showed that 70% of respondents may think about returning home. Of these, 17.9% said they would return as soon as it would be safe, while 45.3% were indecisive, but did not exclude a return.
“As for the forecasts, the further dynamics of immigration will depend mainly on the events in Ukraine: scenarios for the end of the war, economic recovery, investment scales and other factors. Although the demographic situation in Ukraine is indeed a cause for concern, the potential for income. Oleg Rudenko appreciates the Gremya Center.
According to Natalia Panchenko, it is undoubtedly that some Ukrainians living in Poland and Europe will not return to their country even after the end of the war.
“These are mainly those Ukrainians who have nowhere to return. Very often, people not only have their own house, but they no longer have the city from which they came. See cities such as Avdiyivka or Bakhmut, or much more, and look at the map today, there is only burned land. ”
On the other hand, some of the refugees are already returning, without waiting for negotiations on a truce or peace negotiations, so that the children begin the new academic year in Ukraine since September.
“About 40% of refugees today are planning to return to Ukraine. Regardless of the fact that some of them have already earned, they have friends, they say that they do not have a sense of homeland here, and that they will want to return to Ukraine as soon as possible. ” – Natalia Panchenko ends.