EU countries record sharp rise in number of Ukrainians under temporary protection in September – Eurostat

Eurostat published these figures on November 10, Ukrinform reports.

According to the agency, in September 2025, EU countries issued 79,205 new decisions granting temporary protection to non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine as a consequence of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. This marks a 49% increase from August 2025 and represents the highest monthly number of new decisions recorded since August 2023.

Compared with the end of August, the total number of people under temporary protection in the EU rose by 49,555 (+1.2%) by the end of September 2025, reaching over 4.3 million.

This increase follows the adoption by the Ukrainian government at the end of August 2025 of the decree giving men aged 18 to 22 inclusive the right to leave Ukraine without hindrance.

The EU countries hosting the highest number of beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine were Germany (1,218,100 people; 28.3% of the EU total), Poland (1,008,885; 23.5%) and Czechia (389,310; 9%).

Among the EU countries with available data, the number of people under temporary protection increased in 24 countries, with the three largest absolute increases observed in Poland (+12,960; +1.3%), Germany (+7,585; +0.6%) and Czechia (+3,455; +0.9%). The only decrease was registered in France (-240; -0.4%).

The highest ratios of temporary protection beneficiaries per 1,000 people were observed in Czechia (35.7), Poland (27.6) and Estonia (25.5), whereas the corresponding figure at the EU level was 9.6 per 1,000 people.

On September 30, 2025, Ukrainian citizens represented over 98.4% of the beneficiaries of temporary protection in the EU. Adult women made up 44% of the beneficiaries. Minors accounted for almost one third (31%), while adult men comprised close to a quarter (25.1%) of the total.

Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU activated the so-called Temporary Protection Directive, which grants Ukrainians fleeing the war the right to stay legally in EU countries and access basic social services, including healthcare, education, and employment.

In June this year, the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council adopted a political decision to extend the Temporary Protection Directive for Ukrainians until March 4, 2027.

Photo: ukraine-forum.eu