Mass exodus from Ukraine: Hundreds of thousands flee

Since the eruption of war in February 2022, at least 650,000 draft-age men have fled Ukraine, according to official data published by the BBC using statistics from Eurostat. Furthermore, there could potentially be an additional number of unaccounted men residing illegally in Western Europe.

The BBC reported on Friday that 650,000 Ukrainian men of conscription age have migrated to European Union nations due to Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. These numbers are based on data from Eurostat.

The 650,000 male Ukrainian refugees of draft age are distributed among 27 EU countries, Switzerland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.

However, these statistics do not detail the legal circumstances of their departure from Ukraine. Examples include men who may legally leave due to being fathers of at least three children or being in the second group of invalids.

The German Ministry of the Interior provided data indicating that since February 24, 2022, nearly 222,000 men, aged 18-60, have arrived in Germany from Ukraine. Over 189,000 of them have remained in Germany.

This data only incorporates those who are registered officially. However, the Ministry of the Interior speculates that another 100,000 men might be residing in Germany illegally.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees data suggests that the full-scale conflict's commencement has prompted approximately 6.3 million citizens to seek refuge outside Ukraine, predominantly women and children. Eurostat data shows that 4.2 million Ukrainians have received international aid, which is only available to those who emigrated from Ukraine on or after February 24 of the previous year.

Since July, over 13,500 individuals have returned to Ukraine from Russia using the sole functioning humanitarian corridor located in the Sumy region, as reported by the Ukrainian Ministry of Reintegration of temporarily occupied territories.

"Since the corridor reopened in July 2023, more than 13,500 Ukrainians have returned to Ukraine from Russia using this route in the Sumy region. Among them are 1,653 children and 131 individuals with reduced mobility," the ministry stated.

The humanitarian corridor in operation is at the Kolotilovka-Pokrovka crossing point, sitting on the border of the Russian Belgorod region and the Ukrainian Sumy region. The crossing is only operational in one direction, indicating that it cannot be used as an exit route to Russia.

A transit center has been set up for those crossing the border, offering a warm place to rest and take shelter.