Ukrainian Migrants in Europe: Situation Depending on the Region of Stay

Ukraine has become one of the largest donors of population and labor force in Europe. The assessment of the migration of Ukrainians to the countries of Europe is based on data from three national surveys on external labor migration (2008, 2012, 2017), a survey in the framework of the TEMPER project with the participation of the author (2017-2018), as well as data from a number of studies of Ukrainian labor migration conducted in Ukraine and in recipient countries. The purpose of the paper is a comparative analysis of the migration of Ukrainians to different regions of Europe. Methods of the research are system approach, method of complex use of information from different sources, comparative and graphic methods. Scientific novelty of the paper is to identify the features of external labor migration of citizens of Ukraine depending on the geographical direction of movement. The changes in the trends of external labor migration of Ukrainians that occurred since the independence are analyzed. A comparative analysis of the migration of Ukrainians to Western and Eastern Europe was carried out. It is shown that labor trips to countries neighboring Ukraine mostly remain circular and short-term. Migration to Western Europe is characterized by a transition from circular to permanent migration, with the formation of new Ukrainian Diasporas in the recipient countries. The composition of migrants to Western Europe by gender, age, level of education, regions of origin, legal status of stay abroad, etc. is analyzed in comparison with Ukrainian migrants to Eastern Europe and the employment population of Ukraine. Special attention is paid to the professional composition of migrants before and after departure. It is concluded that the increase in the share of the European Union in the structure of external labor migration from Ukraine is a positive phenomenon, as it contributes to the spread of European values in Ukrainian society. Future tendencies of Ukrainian migration, in particular in the context of COVID-19 epidemic are estimated. Proposals for improving the migration policy of Ukraine are presented.