Polish Border Guard refutes data on 100,000 men aged 18–22 leaving Ukraine
The Polish Border Guard said reports that nearly 100,000 men aged 18–22 left Ukraine over the past two months are not true.
BBC reported this, citing the Polish Border Guard, Censor.NET notes.
What Poland says
According to the Polish Border Guard, the figure of "100,000 men" reflects only the number of border crossings in September and October by men aged 18–22.
These data do not account for the fact that the same individual may have crossed the border multiple times, the service explained.
The data also cover Poland’s entire external border, not only the Polish-Ukrainian frontier.
How many actually left
"From 26 August to 26 October 2025, on all external sections of Poland’s state border (with Ukraine, the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, as well as at air and sea checkpoints), the Border Guard carried out over 98,500 checks of male Ukrainian citizens aged 18–22 entering Poland," the Polish Border Guard explained.
The service added that the number of men aged 18–22 who left Poland during that period was over 45,300. Therefore, the number of those who left Ukraine in that timeframe and did not return is significantly lower than the figure cited in the media.
Background
- On 29 October, The Telegraph reported that nearly 100,000 Ukrainian men aged 18–22 had left Ukraine after travel restrictions were eased.
- Earlier, Polish border guards recorded a sharp increase in the number of Ukrainians aged 18–22 entering Poland in September, more than tenfold compared to August. The number of men leaving Poland also rose by 3.5 times over the same period.
