President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed that 9.5 million Ukrainian citizens are currently living abroad, driven from their homeland by the ongoing war with Russia, according to Bankier.pl — finanse, citing the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
Speaking during an online meeting with the Hudson Institute on Friday, the Ukrainian leader emphasised the scale of displacement caused by the conflict. “Currently, 9.5 million civilians are abroad. This war forced them to leave Ukraine. 9.5 million. Can you imagine that? If your country’s population is 40 million, can you imagine that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 20–25 per cent of them are abroad?” Zelensky said.
The president stressed that millions of people have lost their lives, homes and livelihoods as a consequence of the Russian invasion. He used the stark figures to underline Ukraine’s need for concrete security guarantees from its international partners.
Security guarantees at the heart of negotiations
Zelensky made clear that preventing Russia from returning to Ukraine is central to any peace settlement. “We are counting on security guarantees from partners that will not allow Russia to come back,” he stated during the address.
The Ukrainian president outlined two possible paths for securing the country’s future. “It’s about bilateral security guarantees between us and the Americans – everyone is working on it. Another possibility is our membership in NATO. This is a separate issue and a different kind of security guarantee, but they must be reliable. These are two solutions,” Zelensky explained.
He added that all these matters are included in every plan already discussed with various allies, describing security assurances as “an extremely important – key element of our negotiations”.
Trilateral talks planned for November
According to the report, Zelensky previously indicated that a trilateral meeting between Ukrainian, American and Russian negotiating teams to discuss ending the war is planned for the first half of November in Abu Dhabi. The timing of the meeting, however, depends on the Russian side, the president noted.
The disclosure of the 9.5 million figure highlights the enormous human cost of the conflict, which has now entered its third year since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The exodus represents one of the largest displacement crises in Europe since the Second World War.
What this means for Poles in the UK
The figure of 9.5 million Ukrainians abroad includes the substantial Ukrainian community that has settled in the United Kingdom since the start of the war. Poles in Britain have been among those working alongside, supporting and living near Ukrainian refugees who arrived under various government schemes, including the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship programme and the Ukraine Family Scheme.
With ongoing peace negotiations on the horizon, the question of when – or whether – displaced Ukrainians will return home remains uncertain. For Polish residents in the UK, particularly those in sectors such as construction, hospitality and healthcare where both communities are well represented, the continued presence of Ukrainian workers and families is likely to remain a feature of daily life for the foreseeable future.
Those involved in sponsoring Ukrainian families should be aware that the path to peace remains complex and dependent on security guarantees that have yet to be finalised. The UK government continues to offer support through the Ukraine visa schemes, which remain open, and local councils provide integration services that both Polish and Ukrainian communities can access.