Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the emirate's capital, long a refuge for millionaires, has become a Russian city. There are around 500,000 Russians there, according to unofficial estimates, for 3.6 million inhabitants.
This nationality now represents one in seven inhabitants. Nearly 8,500 millionaires have left the UAE since the war in Ukraine began in 2014. The middle classes have followed, making up the majority of the city's population. The emirates middle class is now one of the largest in the world.