Ukrainian State Border Service updates border crossing statistics

MOSCOW. July 8 (Interfax) - The number of Ukrainian border crossings in the week from June 29 to July 5 rose 10.5% to 716,000, the highest rates since the beginning of the summer vacation season, Ukrainian media reported, citing the State Border Service as saying on social media.

The number of people leaving Ukraine soared to 361,000 from 333,000 a week earlier, while the number of those arriving in the country increased to 355,000 from 315,000.

The number of vehicles crossing the checkpoints over the past week also went up 12.9% to 131,000 from 116,000 a week earlier, although the number of vehicles carrying humanitarian goods dropped to 547 from 566.

As for the distribution of the flow by days of the week, as the State Border Service said, the number of vehicles leaving the country is usually higher on weekends and the last days before them, while the number of vehicles entering the country is higher on weekends and on Monday.

The number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe was estimated at 5.997 million and 6.555 million globally as of June 13 this year, which is 55,000 and 81,000 more than a month earlier, respectively, according to updated data from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

There were 3.548 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine itself, according to the latest UN data as of April this year, which is 141,000 fewer than at the beginning of the year.