More than 70% of Ukrainian refugees intend to return from Lithuania to Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
According to a survey by the International Organization for Migration, more than 70% of Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania intend to return to Ukraine as soon as the country becomes safer. About 79% plan to stay in Lithuania for the next six months.
According to the survey of needs and intentions, in the next six months the majority of those who arrived will remain in Lithuania, but a significant part of the refugees plan to return as soon as it is safer in Ukraine. Transmits UNN with reference to Lithuanian National Radio and Television.
Details
According to a study by the office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM Lithuania), the majority of Ukrainian military refugees would like to return to Ukraine, but with a change in the security situation, 12% were undecided. On the other hand, currently and in the next six months, about 79% of respondents intend to stay in Lithuania. At the same time, 20% reported that they were not sure about their plans. Only 1% plan to leave in the next six months.
Obstacles and challenges
The need to learn Lithuanian is growing, 62% of Ukrainians call the language barrier one of the main obstacles in finding a job.
Obviously, the longer Ukrainians live in Lithuania, the more they need to integrate and achieve their goals here, and language is one of the most important aspects
The survey revealed the main factors determining the needs of Ukrainian refugees:
About 60% of respondents named financial support as their main need,
43% – language courses,
36% – employment and work,
34% – health services,
25% – possession of long-term housing.
Last year's data
Interestingly, in the summer of 2023, only 8% of respondents indicated the need for accessibility of language courses; however, in June-September of the same year, 18% of respondents indicated the need to master the language environment.
Addition
In the two years since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, almost 87 thousand Ukrainian citizens have arrived in Lithuania. Currently, according to the IOM survey, about 45% of Ukrainians in Lithuania are employed; 15% have created jobs for themselves, the rest are looking for work.
