Return of Ukrainians from abroad: expert explains what the government can do to help

Return of Ukrainians from abroad: expert explains what the government can do to help

Kyiv  •  UNN

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Yevhenia Blyzniuk explained that the government should develop separate incentive packages for different groups of refugees. According to her, the easiest way to return Ukrainians from Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria is through logistical proximity.

In order to facilitate the process of returning Ukrainians to their homeland, the government must, in particular, understand what groups refugees and the emigrant community are divided into and develop a separate package for each group that will attract people to return home. This opinion was expressed by Yevhenia Blyzniuk, founder and director of Gradus Research and Corestone Group, to UNN.

In January, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said that the majority of Ukrainian refugees are eager to return home as soon as it is safe in Ukraine. According to the survey, 61% of them are ready to return when the conditions are right.

Commenting on this statement, Blyznyuk noted that the UN has a key phrase - under certain conditions.

Yes, indeed, 60% plus or minus, we (Gradus Research, a research company that conducts rapid national opinion polls using the Gradus mobile application - ed.) have the same figure, a little less than 54% of people are considering returning home, but only if the security situation improves. Also, provided that they have a stable job, housing, because there are certain groups of people who have lost their homes or whose homes have remained in the occupied territories. This is a separate category

- Blyznyuk said.

Ms. Blyznyuk explained what she believes the government should do to speed up the process of Ukrainians returning to their homeland.

"I am convinced that we must understand and behave as a state, realizing that we will compete for our people with the countries where they find themselves, because demographically our migrants are very much needed, in particular, by European countries. But not only as a labor force, they are educated, they are hardworking, and all this has a positive impact on local labor markets. Therefore, the state needs to segment, understand what groups the emigrant community is divided into, and develop a separate package for each group that will attract people to return home," said Blyzniuk.

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According to her, social housing and the opportunity to get a job where this social housing is offered may be an incentive for someone to return.

"For some, it will be infrastructure for children and the ability to safely send their children to school or go through a full education process. For others, it will be the working status that people were used to before the war, because a whole cohort of our migrants abroad are now forced to work in much lower positions and receive lower salaries than they could expect in Ukraine," said Blyzniuk.

The expert also believes that a common factor that will encourage people to return will be the requirement of local authorities to learn the language.

The language issue is still a high barrier, and this is a certain difficulty why people are not ready to stay in countries of temporary protection

- Blyznyuk said.

Countries from which it is easier to encourage people to return and why

"It is worth focusing on European countries purely because of their logistical proximity to Ukraine. People who went further, for example, to the United States, Canada, usually have already made up their minds to leave Ukraine based on the data. That is, it is a decision to immigrate. Whereas the Ukrainian migrant community in European countries still sees it as a temporary option, a temporary stay," explained Blyzniuk.

Therefore, she said, the closer Ukrainians are to the border, the more they tend to return.

"These are primarily Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. That is, countries with relatively fast logistics of entry back into Ukraine. I think it will be easier to attract these people back," Blyzniuk said.

The expert said that a trend has recently emerged - the intention to live in two countries.

"Not long ago, an interesting trend emerged: the intention to live in two countries. This means that it is clear that some opportunities and social ties have already appeared in the new temporary place of residence and have been preserved in Ukraine. The intention to return to Ukraine is strongly influenced by the strength of social ties with Ukraine: if a person has a partner or parents or remote work in Ukraine, any social connection increases the likelihood of return. Instead, if a whole family has left or a single person has left, the likelihood of returning decreases," Blyzniuk said.

The topic of returning mothers with school-age children

Ms. Blyznyuk noted that the return of mothers with school-age children will depend very much on the security situation, on further, so to speak, security guarantees for Ukraine as a whole.

"Because, of course, the motivation to protect children from the trauma of war is still very high. This group of people will be very cautious. On the other hand, children adapt very quickly. The further they stay in European countries, the more they are socialized there, they make friends, they plan to enter universities in other countries. Accordingly, even if mothers or families decide to return to Ukraine, children can stay in countries of temporary protection and build their lives there," said Blyzniuk.

According to her, this can be viewed as an asset in a way, because the level of education of potential specialists who may find work in Ukrainian companies or Ukrainian state institutions in the future will definitely meet European standards.

Incentives for men to return

Blyznyuk emphasized that the topic of encouraging men to return to Ukraine is a complex issue.

"Encouraging men to return is a super complicated issue, because of course there is a great fear that the war will resume and there will be further waves of mobilization," said Blyznyuk.

She also commented on the statement by the Minister of National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshev that the state is ready to offer Ukrainians abroad jobs at defense enterprises with the possibility of reservations from mobilization.

It seems to me that we need to look at this from the point of view of the level of trust in the state and in state institutions on the part of our fellow citizens. Those who remain in Ukraine, those who have migrated, will definitely wait for some specific norms or guarantees and then make a decision, as long as it does not motivate or demotivate them. These are just intentions that have been voiced

- Blyznyuk said.

Ministry of National Unity of Ukraine

On December 3, 2024, the government renamed the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories to the Ministry of National Unity of Ukraine, thus defining a new vector for its work.

Subsequently, the Verkhovna Rada appointed Oleksiy Chernyshev, the head of Naftogaz of Ukraine, as Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of National Unity.

Before its creation, the government stated that the main mission of the ministry was to return 7.5 million people to Ukraine not by force, but by prospects.

In January of this year, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a regulation on the Ministry of Unity.

The Ministry will work in several areas.

Among them, in particular:

⦁ formulation of a national unity policy that will help strengthen Ukrainian identity and interaction between citizens

⦁ creating conditions for Ukrainians to return home or integrate at their new place of residence

One of the innovations was the creation of the National Unity Agency , which will support Ukrainian communities abroad and implement initiatives to strengthen ties with the diaspora.

Chernyshev's main statements

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Unity Chernyshov emphasized that Ukraine would not use any coercive measures to return Ukrainians home.

According to him, there are 20-25 million Ukrainians abroad and about 32 million in Ukraine.

Chernyshov told the German news agency dpa that refugees who return to Ukraine "will be granted deferment from military service" if they find work in critical industries.

Viz also noted that Ukraine is ready to offer Ukrainians abroad jobs at defense companies with the possibility of reservations from mobilization. It is planned to create special job centers in Ukraine and abroad.

Chernyshov claimed that half of the men of military age currently abroad are ready to return to Ukraine without the end of the war, provided the issue of reservations is resolved.

He added that the future Unity Hubs abroad will address issues of mobilization and military registration documents, as well as facilitate employment in Ukraine.