Human Trafficking in Ukraine in the Light of Police Statistics (2013 – 6 m. 2025) – Research Centre for Crime and Armed Conflicts

Police statistics show that a period of 2013 – 2016 was stable in the aspect of numbers of registered crimes of human trafficking as well as of numbers of suspects in related criminal proceedings.

In 2017, there was a rapid increase in human trafficking crimes, which slowly ended in 2021. The Ukrainian police statistics say, even in 2022, 2023 and 2024, the average number of crimes was almost the same as it was in 2013 – 2016.

However, one can conclude that the War impacted the crime rates significantly (232 crimes in 2021, 133 crimes in 2022, 147 crimes in 2023, 105 crimes in 2024). At the same time, we can argue concerning a factual increase in THB cases considering the fact that 6,5 million Ukrainians left the country and ‘created’ new ‘opportunities’ for human traffickers.

The wartime period has given evidence that the War in Ukraine is a key driver of human trafficking. While the real number of human trafficking cases is often not known for a long time after the conflict, as victims may not recognize they are being exploited and take time to come forward – it is clear that the conflict in Ukraine has increased trafficking in the region[1].

The conflict has generated opportunities for traffickers and human smugglers (especially for undocumented migrants, given that Ukrainians can benefit from a visa-free regime for entering the EU), ranging from providing illicit services to forging documents and smuggling men of military age across the Ukrainian border (these men are banned from leaving Ukraine by the law) to abusing the vulnerable status of refugees in host countries. Of the millions who fled Ukraine, 90% are women or children – the primary and most vulnerable targets for trafficking[2].

What is really remarkable is the number of THB crimes registered in 6 months of 2025, which appeared much bigger than for the whole period of 2024.

In 2024, 105 criminal proceedings in human trafficking were registered in Ukraine, with 62 criminal proceedings with concrete suspects.

However, in the first six months of 2025, 114 criminal proceedings in human trafficking were registered in Ukraine, with 66 criminal proceedings with concrete suspects.

It means that the number of THB crimes registered in six months of 2025 is 109% bigger as compared with the same number for 2024.

However, it is difficult to say how human trafficking was affected by the 2022 Russian invasion. On one hand, the number of registered THB crimes decreased to zero immediately after the Russian military forces crossed the Ukrainian border. On the other hand, serious concerns arise around the fact that THB cases continue to be registered in the light of closed borders, police checks, curfews and hundreds of military and police roadblocks.

At the same time, it should be pointed that 133 THB crimes in 2022, 147 THB crimes in 2023, 105 THB crimes in 2024 and even 114 crimes in 6 months of 2025 are more than insufficient considering 6,5 million Ukrainian refugees, which could lead to the conclusion that something is obviously wrong with the police intelligence in the sphere of THB prevention as well as with intelligence of the Ukrainian border service. It could be said that THB crimes are more latent ones than the LEA officials declare.