War-Related Displacement in Ukraine: Internal and Cross-Border Movements Since 2022

Photo: Chernihiv - UNDP Ukraine

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 triggered one of the largest displacement crises in Europe since the Second World War. By early 2025, approximately 3.7 million persons remained internally displaced within Ukraine and over 6.3 million were recorded as refugees or persons under international protection across Europe. This report examines the scale of displacement, destruction of civilian infrastructure, cross-border refugee flows, and implications for international protection, drawing on data from UNHCR, IOM, the World Bank, and Eurostat.

Internal Displacement - Scale and Trends

According to data compiled by the International Organization for Migration and UNHCR, internal displacement within Ukraine has followed a distinctive trajectory since February 2022.[1][2]

IOM defines internally displaced persons as individuals forced to leave or unable to return to their usual residence due to the full-scale invasion, regardless of whether they hold official IDP status. The reduction from the 2022 peak reflects partial returns and methodological adjustments in monitoring - not a resolution of displacement conditions.

Destruction of Housing and Civilian Infrastructure

The World Bank Group, together with the Government of Ukraine and the United Nations, has published Rapid Damage and Needs Assessments documenting the scale of physical destruction. An estimated one in every ten homes in Ukraine has been damaged or destroyed. Frontline regions - including Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Kyiv oblast - account for approximately 72% of total damage across all sectors. Energy infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and transport networks have sustained extensive damage.[3]

Cross-Border Refugee Flows

UNHCR's Europe data and trends reports document large-scale cross-border movements since February 2022. By end of October 2024, 6,225,700 refugees from Ukraine were recorded across Europe, of whom 6,167,100 registered for asylum, temporary protection or similar schemes. By end of January 2025, 6,346,300 refugees from Ukraine were recorded in Europe, of whom 6,325,125 registered for asylum or temporary protection. These figures reflect individuals currently recorded under protection arrangements - not cumulative border crossings, which have been significantly higher due to circular movement.[2]

Refugee Host Countries in Europe

UNHCR-based data indicate that, as of May 2025, the largest host countries in Europe for Ukrainian refugees are as follows.[2]

EU Temporary Protection Directive

The EU Temporary Protection Directive (2001/55/EC) was activated in March 2022 - for the first time since its adoption - providing Ukrainian nationals with rapid access to residence permits, the labour market, housing, education, and healthcare across EU member states.[4]

Evacuations and Forced Transfers

Ukraine has conducted organised civilian evacuations from frontline and occupation-affected areas throughout the conflict. UNHCR and IOM document both voluntary evacuations facilitated by Ukrainian authorities and reports of forced transfers of civilians - including children - to Russian territory, which have been characterised by international bodies as a serious violation of international humanitarian law. These include voluntary evacuations from active combat zones and areas under threat of shelling, mandatory evacuation orders issued by Ukrainian authorities in high-risk regions, documented forced transfers of Ukrainian civilians to Russia and Russian-controlled territory, and separation of children subject to proceedings before the International Criminal Court.[1][2]

What Individuals Affected by War-Related Displacement Can Do

Individuals displaced from Ukraine - whether internally or across borders - should consider practical steps including registering with national authorities or UNHCR in the host country to secure lawful status and access to services, obtaining documentation confirming displacement including IDP certificates, evacuation notices or housing damage records, preserving evidence of origin such as identity documents, property records, photos and utility bills to support future claims or returns, seeking legal advice regarding rights under temporary protection, asylum or other applicable national protection schemes, and monitoring updates from UNHCR and IOM on conditions in areas of origin before considering return.

Organisations Providing Information and Monitoring

These organisations provide monitoring and analysis but do not substitute for individual legal representation in asylum or protection proceedings.

Considering International Protection

Ukrainian nationals currently outside Ukraine may be entitled to international protection through several routes. EU Temporary Protection is available to Ukrainian nationals under the 2022 activation of Directive 2001/55/EC, providing residence, work rights, healthcare, and education. Individual asylum claims may be pursued for those not covered by temporary protection, or in non-EU countries, assessed on personal circumstances and country-of-origin information. Subsidiary protection is applicable where individuals face serious harm due to indiscriminate violence in armed conflict.[2][4]

Recognition rates for Ukrainian applicants have been high across most European jurisdictions, reflecting the documented conditions of armed conflict, mass displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure.

Professional Assistance and Country Analysis

Cases involving displacement from Ukraine may require independent country analysis addressing current security and humanitarian conditions in the specific region of origin, scale and patterns of housing and infrastructure destruction, availability and accessibility of internal relocation as an alternative to international protection, conditions for return in the context of ongoing armed conflict, documented patterns of forced displacement and civilian targeting, and the status and enforcement of mandatory evacuation orders issued by Ukrainian authorities. Independent expert reports and human rights documentation may assist legal representatives in contextualising individual risk and the viability of return for asylum adjudicators and immigration tribunals.

Analytical Assessment

The scale of displacement triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is without precedent in Europe since the Second World War. The combination of active military operations, systematic destruction of civilian housing and infrastructure, and sustained targeting of frontline regions has produced displacement that is both forced and durable. IOM and UNHCR data confirm that despite partial returns in 2023, approximately 3.7 million persons remained internally displaced within Ukraine as of late 2024, while over 6.3 million were recorded as refugees or persons under protection schemes across Europe. The stabilisation of the IDP figure at this level - more than two years after the invasion - reflects an ongoing and structurally unresolved displacement situation, not a temporary crisis.

The destruction of housing stock represents a structural and not merely contingent obstacle to return. The World Bank/UN RDNA estimates damage to one in every ten homes in Ukraine, with frontline regions accounting for 72% of total cross-sector damage. This scale of physical destruction means that the material conditions required for return - intact housing, functioning utilities, accessible healthcare and education - do not currently exist for large sections of the displaced population. Regions under active military operation or subject to ongoing shelling present direct security risks that further preclude durable return.

For Ukrainian nationals currently outside the country, the combination of active armed conflict, mass casualty events, documented destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the scale of international protection registrations - over 6.3 million under temporary protection or equivalent schemes - constitutes strong country-of-origin evidence relevant to individual protection claims. The activation and successive extensions of the EU Temporary Protection Directive reflect the collective assessment of EU member states that conditions in Ukraine preclude safe and durable return. Individual claims are assessed on personal circumstances, but the systemic context of generalised armed conflict, documented indiscriminate attacks, and mass displacement provides a robust evidentiary foundation for protection under both refugee law and subsidiary protection frameworks.