Economy

Passenger traffic at the western border increased by 1.2% last week

Passenger traffic across Ukraine’s western border in the eighth week of this year, from February 21 to 27, increased by 1.2% to 411,000, according to daily statistics from the State Border Service, which are tracked by the Interfax-Ukraine agency, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".

According to these statistics, over the last three weeks, the number of border crossings out of Ukraine has exceeded the number of crossings into Ukraine, although the situation was reversed in the previous five weeks despite the effects of shelling and cold weather.

Last week, this difference narrowed: the number of border crossings to leave the country decreased to 212,000 from 214,000 a week earlier, while the number of crossings to enter the country increased to 199,000 from 192,000.

The number of vehicles that passed through checkpoints last week increased to 116, while in the previous seven weeks it remained at around 110,000. The number of vehicles carrying humanitarian cargo decreased to 496 from 524 a week earlier.

The State Border Service advises travelers to take into account the possible instability of the electronic systems of the control services at checkpoints when planning their trips.

According to its data, as of 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, the longest queue for departure, consisting of 75 vehicles, was at the Ustyluh checkpoint on the border with Poland. Another 15 vehicles were waiting to cross into Poland at the Uhryniv and Krakivets checkpoints.

At the borders with other countries, there were small queues of 10 cars at the Tisa and Luzhanka checkpoints on the border with Hungary.

Total border crossings last week were 5.5% lower than last year. At that time, 225,000 people left Ukraine and 210,000 entered the country over a similar 7-day period, and the flow of cars was also slightly higher – 117,000.

Last year, an increase in passenger traffic of 2.1% was recorded during this week, and the following week it grew by another 1.1%.

As reported, from May 10, 2022, the outflow of refugees from Ukraine, which began with the start of the war, was replaced by an influx that lasted until September 23, 2022, and amounted to 409,000 people. However, since the end of September, possibly influenced by news of mobilization in Russia and “pseudo-referendums” in the occupied territories, followed by massive shelling of energy infrastructure, the number of those leaving exceeded the number of those entering. In total, from the end of September 2022 to the first anniversary of the full-scale war, it reached 223,000 people.

In the second year of the full-scale war, the number of border crossings to leave Ukraine, according to the State Border Service, exceeded the number of crossings to enter by 25,000, in the third year by 187,000, and in the fourth year by 221,000.

In its January inflation report, the National Bank revised its estimate of migration from Ukraine last year down to 0.3 million from 0.2 million due to the deterioration of the security situation at the end of the year and the easing of exit rules for young people, but noted that this is less than 0.5 million in 2024.

The NBU continues to forecast a net outflow of 0.2 million in 2026, while net returns, according to its forecast, will begin in 2027 and amount to about 0.1 million people, increasing to 0.5 million people in 2028.

According to updated UNHCR data, the number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe as of February 19, 2026, was estimated at 5.375 million (5.349 million as of January 16), and 5.924 million (5.898 million) worldwide.

In Ukraine itself, according to the latest UN data for the end of 2025, there were 3.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), compared to 3.340 million in July and 3.76 million in April.

Crossings of Ukraine’s western border, thousands:

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