According to the Ukrainian border guard, more than 38,000 people re-entered the country on Saturday. In the other direction, about 32,000 Ukrainians have fled their country.
However, Mayor Vitali Klitschko of Kyiv’s capital warns that it is still too early for citizens to return. Russia is again ramping up the number of missile strikes on several cities seems to illustrate Klitschko’s warning.
According to the border guard, the number of returnees has increased recently. More than 400,000 people have returned from the European Union and Moldova since the beginning of this month.
The border guard suspects that Ukrainians who study or work abroad are returning because of the Easter holidays. They would also include people who had previously been evacuated but are now returning to visit relatives.
“People who have fled to other parts of Ukraine are returning to Kyiv because they are running out of money,” explains Bruno Beeckman. “Due to the enormous demand, renting an apartment in western Ukraine has become much more expensive, up to 300 to 400 percent.”
“Business people have come back just to see if everything is still straight,” said Beeckman. “A third reason people come back is to care for elderly relatives who refused to leave Kyiv at the beginning of the war.”
Beeckman expects the number of returnees to decrease again in the coming days as the Russian army carries out more and more rocket attacks, including in Kyiv and the western city of Lviv. Bus company FlixBus resumes bus trips to Ukraine as the number of people returning to Ukraine increases.
