Peculiarities of Mass Migration of Ukrainians to Western European Countries after February 2022

Abstract

Since February 24, 2022, when the Russian Federation launched a full-scale war against Ukraine and invaded Ukrainian territories from several directions, Ukraine has faced the biggest migration crisis since World War II. More than a third of Ukrainians were forced to leave their homes. For Western Europe, these events also caused the biggest migration crisis since the middle of the 20th century. According to the latest UN data, as of the end of October, there are currently at least 7,700,000 refugees in Europe, 4,300,000 refugees have received the status of temporary EU protection, or a similar status from non-EU countries. It is worth noting that it is difficult to establish the exact number of Ukrainian refugees. Ukrainians cross the border in both directions. Some people temporarily staying in the EU are not registered as persons in need of temporary protection, but stay there as tourists.Ukrainian migrants face a lot of problems in the host countries, namely lack of funds for living, lack of housing, labor difficulties, difficulties in learning local languages, problems with teaching children in local schools. Gradually, the processes of integration of Ukrainian refugees in different European countries are taking place. However, the issue of establishing intentions to return to their homeland is important. After all, reverse migration will affect the post-war development of Ukraine. An important factor is the fact that the vast majority of women with minor children were forced to leave their husbands in Ukraine. Most families will try to unite after the end of martial law and the ban on crossing the border for men. The main question will be which trend will prevail: women returning home with children or, on the contrary, men moving to their wives abroad.All these events require careful study in order to forecast the further development of the migration of the Ukrainian population.