Poland did not make any calculations suggesting that only 15 million citizens remain in Ukraine. Nor was it reported that 9.5 million people had moved to Russia. Propaganda fabricated these figures and attributed them to the Polish publication Wiadomosci to support a disinformation narrative claiming that Ukraine’s population has shrunk significantly and that Ukrainians fleeing the country prefer Russia to EU countries.
Social media users are spreading information that Poland has allegedly made calculations that show that less than 15 million people remain in Ukraine. At the same time, the propaganda claims that most Ukrainian refugees chose Russia – almost 9.5 million people. Meanwhile, only 6.5 million went to EU countries. Such posts often include a screenshot of a news article from the Polish publication Wiadomosci titled “Up to 25 million Ukrainians abroad. Authorities say”.
“Poles have calculated that 25 million Ukrainians have left the country. About 6.5 million went to the EU. Nearly 9.5 million fled to Russia. Eight million live in the DPR, LPR [pseudo-entities created by Russia in occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions], Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions [in territories temporarily occupied by Russia]. One million killed. Less than 15 million remain in Ukraine,” users describe the screenshot of the Polish news article.
After this information was spread, StopFake decided to verify whether such research was actually conducted in Poland. As expected, this information turned out to be false.
On January 6, 2024, the Polish publication Wiadomosci published an article titled “Up to 25 Million Ukrainians Abroad. Authorities declare.” However, if one reads the entire article, it becomes clear that the “calculations” cited by the propaganda from this article are completely fabricated. The Polish publication, as well as the Polish authorities, did not conduct any studies on the movement of Ukrainian refugees outside Poland or on the population remaining in Ukraine. The article merely reported data previously disclosed by Ukraine’s Minister of National Unity, Oleksiy Chernyshov. According to him, the ministry estimates that 20-25 million Ukrainians are abroad, while about 32 million remain in Ukraine, not 15 million as the propaganda claims. The article also provides no data on how many people have traveled to Russia versus EU countries.
“According to our estimates, there are 20-25 million Ukrainians abroad and about 32 million in Ukraine. This is a large, powerful nation that has been partially forced to go abroad, and we are beginning the process of bringing Ukrainians home. I want to emphasize that this return is completely voluntary. No coercive methods will be used,” the publication quoted Chernyshov as saying.
Ukrainian experts and sociologists also state that by the end of 2024, about 30 million people still remain in Ukraine. For example, Oleksandr Hladun, director of research at the Institute of Demography and Social Studies, in an interview with Ukrainian Radio, mentioned a figure of over 34 million, including temporarily occupied territories, and 28-29 million without them.
The United Nations Population Fund also estimates that well over 15 million people remain in Ukraine. According to their calculations, the population of Ukraine in 2024 will be 37.9 million, including the temporarily occupied territories. The study is published on the official website of the Fund.
Regarding the number of refugees who have moved to Russia, this is not the first time that propaganda has cited unsubstantiated figures. Recently, Vladimir Putin claimed that more Ukrainians now live in Russia than in Ukraine. At the time, StopFake noted that while some Ukrainians have crossed into Russia as a result of the war, their numbers do not even remotely exceed the population of Ukraine.
Previously, StopFake debunked claims that three million Ukrainians allegedly want to “escape tyranny” to Russia.
