22,000 returnees on Saturday
Poland counts more arrivals than departures to Ukraine
04/17/2022 1:53 p.m
More than 2.8 million people have fled from Ukraine to Poland since the beginning of the war. But now more and more refugees are returning to their home country: On Saturday, Poland reported more entries into Ukraine than exits. Most are drawn to areas that the Ukrainian army has recaptured.
Poland’s border guards counted more entries into Ukraine than exits from the neighboring country to the east on Saturday. Around 22,000 people had left Poland for Ukraine, the border guard said on Twitter. In contrast, 19,200 people came to Poland from Ukraine in the same period – almost a quarter less than the day before.
According to the UN, more than 2.8 million people have fled to safety in neighboring Poland since the Russian attack on Ukraine began. However, there is no official information on how many refugees stayed in Poland and how many traveled on to other EU countries. According to the authorities, the majority of those returning to Ukraine were Ukrainian nationals. They mostly travel to areas that the Ukrainian army has recaptured.
Only on Saturday, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko asked refugees to stay in safe places and not to return to the capital. Moscow had recently threatened attacks on the command centers in Kyiv after the Ukrainian military is said to have shelled Russian territory.
In Germany, the federal police have so far identified 354,663 refugees from Ukraine. This was shared by the Federal Ministry of the Interior on twitter With. This means that the number of people who fled to Germany before the war has increased by around 4,000 since the previous day. The actual number of refugees from Ukraine is likely to be higher, as there are no fixed controls at the borders and people with Ukrainian passports can stay in the EU for 90 days without a visa.
Before the Russian invasion on February 24, Ukraine had a population of more than 44 million. According to the UN, more than 4.8 million people have left the country since the war began on February 28.