Frontex: now more Ukrainians are returning to their homeland than those fleeing

Some 5.3 million Ukrainian citizens have fled to the EU since the start of the war in February, while the total number of displaced people who have entered Europe, including non-Ukrainian citizens, is 7 million. This was reported by the latest Frontex bulletin, the European border control agency. In recent weeks, there have been more people returning to Ukraine than those leaving the country: between 25 and 31 May, in fact, almost 260,000 Ukrainians left the EU. In total, 2.3 million Ukrainians have returned to their country since the start of the war. In short, a change of trend that lights up hope on the conflict that has afflicted Ukraine for the past 100 days.
The data in Europe
Between January and April, about 57,800 illegal entries of migrants into the European Union took place, 69% more than in the first four months of last year. This is what emerges from the latest data published by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. “Refugees fleeing Ukraine and entering the EU through border crossings are not included in the figures for illegal entries detected”, the note states, and correspond to “over 5.9 million people who entered the EU. from Ukraine and Moldova “. In April, Frontex recorded about 15,000 irregular crossings, 79% more than in the same month last year. In the first four months of 2022 the most active migratory routes to the EU were those of the Western Balkans (with 27,172 illegal crossings), the Central Mediterranean (9,323) and the Eastern Mediterranean (9,109). The number of irregular migrants trying to cross the Channel to the UK using small boats also continues to rise. In fact, about 12,800 attempts were recorded, with an increase of 160% compared to the same period of 2021.