Last year, more than ten thousand russian citizens visited Ukraine. The flow of russians remained practically at the same level during the year. Find out how many russians crossed the Ukrainian border for private purposes

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Despite the closure of the border between Ukraine and russia, some citizens of the aggressor country still manage to enter Ukrainian territory. We tell you how many russians visited Ukraine in 2023 and for what purpose.

Visit Ukraine asked the State Border Service of Ukraine to find out the exact number of russians who crossed the Ukrainian border. And here are the figures they give.

For the first 7 months of 2023, i.e. from January 1 to August 1, 7214 russian citizens entered Ukraine. For the remaining 5 months, the figure is slightly less - 6443 people. However, as can be seen, the trend of russians entering Ukraine remained almost at the same level.

For what purpose did russians enter Ukraine?

According to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the absolute majority of russian citizens (about 13 thousand people) had a private purpose when crossing the border. More than 60 more people were working personnel of vehicles. For the purpose of transit, more than 280 russians crossed the border of Ukraine.

It is worth noting that after familiarizing with the number of russians who crossed the border for the first period of 2023, the portal Visit Ukraine asked for information from a law firm that deals with applications from russian citizens regarding the rules and opportunities to enter Ukraine.

First of all, they said that among russian citizens there are many ethnic Ukrainians who stayed in russia before the full-scale invasion, but have aspirations to return to Ukraine.

The representative of the law firm told VU in a commentary that mostly so-called "good russians" are interested in entering Ukraine, some of whom declare their desire to help the country against the background of the full-scale invasion of russia.

This category of russian citizens includes people who want to:

- join the International Legion and fight on the side of the Ukrainian armed forces;

- become a volunteer;

- move to Ukraine to escape the russian regime.

In addition, according to the interlocutor, some russians want to receive temporary/political asylum on the territory of Ukraine. Also, some russian citizens no longer see their future in their homeland, which is why they express their desire to move to Ukraine. 

We would like to add that from July 1, 2022, entry of russian citizens into Ukraine is possible only with a visa. This decisive action of the Ukrainian government was a response to the aggressive actions of the russian federation against Ukraine. 

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How many citizens of Belarus came to Ukraine in 2023?

As for Belarusians, more than 5.6 thousand citizens of this country came to Ukraine last year. The vast majority of tourists pursued a private purpose when crossing the border.

It is worth noting that some citizens of Belarus have expressed their desire to fight on the side of Ukraine against the russian occupants since the beginning of the war. At the moment, more than a thousand Belarusians are fighting under the aegis of the AFU. Therefore, it is not excluded that a certain number of people from Belarus, who arrived last year, pursued just such a goal.

We remind you! The AFU created a battalion "Siberia", which was formed from russians and representatives of ethnic minorities from the east of russia. Here we tell you who the fighters of this formation are and why they decided to fight against russian terrorists.

When planning a trip to Ukraine, first of all, you need to take care of the appropriate insurance policy, because any foreign insurance automatically terminates after crossing the Ukrainian border. In this case, we recommend that you take out insurance specifically covering military risks, which will cover not only standard medical care/treatment/diagnosis, etc. but also accidents and injuries caused by passive or direct military risks.

You can take out such insurance on the Visit Ukraine website. Follow the link and choose an insurance policy with the appropriate coverage and indemnity amount for the required period.

Want to know more? Read the latest news and useful materials about Ukraine and the world in the News section.

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