Nearly a Million Ukrainian Refugees Have Already Returned to Their Country

Chris TomlinsonApril 16, 2022

While millions of Ukrainians have fled their country since the start of the Russian invasion, nearly a million refugees have also returned to Ukraine as tensions ease in some areas of the country.

In the last week alone, around 330,000 Ukrainian refugees have returned to their country, with a total of 870,000 having returned in total so far. A spokesman for Ukrainian Border Security has claimed that between 25,000 and 30,000 Ukrainians are returning to the country each day.

While nearly a million people have returned, the number of those who have fled the country still heavily outweighs those who have returned as an estimated 4.6 million people have fled the country since the conflict with Russia began in February, the European Union-funded website InfoMigrants reports.

According to the Ukrainian Border Security spokesman, most of the returnees are women, children and elderly people. “They say they see that the situation is safer, especially in the western regions, and they cannot stay abroad any longer,” the spokesman said.

4 Million Refugees Have Fled Ukraine, Says United Nations Agencyhttps://t.co/P1JW6Zs2Sh

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This development comes as Russian forces have, it is claimed, started to withdraw from parts of the north of the country and even lifted the siege of Kyiv.

Following the retreat of Russian forces from the area, Ukrainian forces claim to have found bodies of civilians in the streets of various areas around the capital. In the suburb of Bucha, Ukraine has claimed Russian forces carried out a mass killing of civilians, which some, such as U.S. President Joe Biden, have labelled as a war crime.

The return of Ukrainian refugees to their home country may come as a logistical relief for countries like Poland, which has taken in the largest share of Ukrainians since the conflict began.

Last month, the mayor of Warsaw appealed for international aid due to the large numbers of refugees as the city struggled to provide accommodation for all of the new arrivals.