Hlib Kuzmenko, research expert and Head of Communications at Rating Group, commented on Ukrainians’ migration intentions on Apostrof TV on September 23, 2025. As a reminder, a Rating Group survey showed that 11% of Ukrainians overall — and nearly 20% among young people aged 18–35 — would like to move abroad permanently.

According to Hlib Kuzmenko, these figures do not mean that all of these respondents will definitely leave Ukraine. Rather, Ukrainians’ real decisions will depend on the further situation at the front. There is also a difference between an abstract desire and actual plans to move:

"To conclude that all these people will definitely leave would be a mistaken assumption. To some extent, the percentages here also depend on how the question is asked. Recently, the research laboratory Rating Lab asked Ukrainians whether they plan to move somewhere after the war — that is, not about an abstract desire but about potential plans. And in that case, the share of those who would leave was more than twice as low."

At the same time, the expert noted that migration intentions are indeed stronger among young people, and this may pose certain risks for the country’s economic development:

"Young people are the category with noticeably stronger migration intentions. And this is something that deserves attention. They are often active individuals who want to work and are ready to take on certain initiatives. In other words, they are potentially very economically active citizens."