A total of 4.40 million non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine had temporary protection status in the EU in February 2026.
This represents an increase of 0.5% in just one month, according to the latest Eurostat data. The EU countries hosting the highest number of beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine were Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. However, the number of people under temporary protection increased in 24 countries, with the three largest absolute increases observed in Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain.
In contrast, the three EU countries that recorded a decrease were Estonia, France and Luxembourg. Non-EU nationals who fled Ukraine and were under temporary protection at the end of February 2026. Ukrainian nationals represented over 98.4% of beneficiaries of temporary protection in the EU at the end of January 2026.
Among them, adult women accounted for 43.5%, adult men slightly more than a quarter and minors almost a third, with boys accounting for 16% and girls being 14.2%. Between January and February 2026, adult women and children granted temporary protection increased by 1.4 percentage points and 0.5 percentage points, respectively.
The rest of the non-EU nationals under temporary protection are from Russia (0.3%), Nigeria (0.1%) and Azerbaijan (0.1%).
EU countries offering temporary protection must provide adequate access to accommodation or shelter, social welfare or means of subsistence if necessary, medical care and education for persons under 18, according to the European Commission.
Despite the risks, more than 1.6 million people have returned to frontline areas in Ukraine, such as the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson and Sumy Regions. For many, the financial burden of living in host countries and homesickness outweigh the risks of returning there, according to research by Save the Children.
Three-quarters of the 172 parents and guardians interviewed for the study said that the absence of their home and community, along with a sense of isolation in the places they fled, contributed to their decision to return home to dangerous frontline areas where active fighting is ongoing.
Almost one in two parents and caregivers said they returned because their children felt unhappy, stressed or lonely in their host communities. In addition, around 55% cited the high cost of housing or difficulties finding work in their host communities.
“Returning to a war zone is never a choice anyone makes lightly,” said Save the Children’s Ukraine director Sonia Khush.
“While they may find relative safety in the countries they were forced to flee, many of them find they cannot survive financially, away from their usual income opportunities and support networks, while at the same time feeling a deep longing for the communities and connections they left behind,” she added.