Choosing occupation over life in Ukraine: Why displaced individuals are returning to the war-torn areas.

In Ukraine, there is a problem where displaced persons leave relatively safe areas and return to occupied territories. According to former Deputy Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Georgiy Tuka, he does not know of a single person who has voluntarily returned to the occupied territories.

"99% of the people (he communicated with — ed.) return because they could not establish a normal life in the areas controlled by the central government. This concerns housing, employment, and raising children. Almost the entire spectrum of social issues remains unresolved," — said Georgiy Tuka.

Are Displaced Persons Returning to Occupation?

MP and member of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Maksym Tkachенко noted in an interview with "Ukrinform" that about 150,000 displaced persons have returned to the occupied territories.

"For example, according to available data, 200,000 residents of Mariupol left their city to escape the war brought by Russia to our land. Among them, every third person returned home to Mariupol, into occupation. It is estimated that this is about 67-70 thousand people. In my opinion, these are terrible figures," — reported Tkachенко.

Shortly thereafter, the MP retracted his statement about the number of displaced persons who returned to occupation, calling it an "unfounded and emotional assumption." He noted that there are cases where Ukrainians travel to occupied territories, however, "this is by no means about hundreds or even tens of thousands, and there can theoretically be no verified overall statistics."

In turn, the Deputy Prime Minister — Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk stated that there is no confirmed statistics on the number of IDPs returning to the occupied territories. Moreover, she emphasized that Ukraine is doing what it promises for displaced persons.

"Perhaps this is not enough, but we are at war, and the state’s resources are limited. However, this is not a reason to go into enemy occupation. I will never believe that thousands of Ukrainians are going into Russian occupation due to a lack of 2-3 thousand hryvnias in monthly state assistance. Yes, the state cannot provide every displaced person with an apartment. But there is temporary housing. Yes, we cannot give every displaced person the same job for the same pay as before. Because we are at war. But for those who want to work, there are jobs," — said Vereshchuk.

Choosing to Live Under Occupation: Why This Happens

According to Georgiy Tuka, displaced persons return to occupation because they cannot settle in areas controlled by the central government. He noted that the authorities do not have sufficient resources to facilitate people's adaptation.

He pointed out that solving this problem is complex and multifaceted, requiring huge financial investments. In particular, it is not just about building housing, but also creating jobs. Meanwhile, displaced persons increase the burden on medical facilities, shops, schools, and kindergartens.

"For example, a settlement had a population of 15 thousand, and then people from occupied territories arrived, bringing the total to approximately 600 thousand. Naturally, the load on the infrastructure of this city increases," — explained Tuka.

Many factors contribute to the difficult choice of returning to places from which people were forced to flee, according to Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Governance, Local Self-Government, Regional Development, and Urban Planning Yelena Shulyak.

These circumstances compel displaced persons to return home, hoping that life will be easier there. However, as practice shows, the programs promised by the occupying authorities for citizens returning do not work. Everything remains at the level of promises. According to Shulyak, this applies both to compensation programs for destroyed housing and to the supposedly accessible mortgage, which is analogous to our eOselya.

He stated that the government has begun to withdraw assistance from displaced persons that was provided to solve housing problems, as "working-age people should have already found jobs and solved their problems independently."

"In this statement lies the key problem, as the Ministry of Social Policy does not understand basic things: even when employed, today’s displaced person does not solve the housing issue; they cannot buy or rent decent housing because the wage level in Ukraine does not allow for that. And when you take social assistance away from a person, you are effectively pushing them towards two options — either returning to the occupied territories, which happens because there at least they have housing and some opportunities to find work, or fleeing to seek ways to leave Ukraine for EU countries, where they receive help with housing, employment, and education," — explained Rozenko.

He noted that today, having adequate housing conditions is key for displaced persons. Rozenko believes that people need to be given proper financial assistance to rent housing. Additionally, restrictions should be lifted, particularly for working-age individuals, so they can adapt to new conditions more quickly.

Housing and Integration: How Authorities Should Assist Displaced Persons

According to Yelena Shulyak, there are several points that need to be addressed as quickly as possible. Firstly, it concerns the expansion of eVidnovlennya to temporarily occupied territories. Secondly, finding ways to increase funding for the program.

"For the year 2025, only 4 billion hryvnias have been allocated for it in the state budget. This is almost three times less than the necessary amount. However, there are options for financing — we can redirect part of the local budgets to it and continue negotiations with international partners who are already providing funds for this purpose," — says Shulyak.

Thirdly, it is necessary to revise the terms of the eOselya program for IDPs so that it becomes accessible to them. This involves reducing the interest rate for them from 7% to 3% and lowering the down payment from 20% to 15%. Due to the current — unmanageable — conditions, in 2023, no more than 200 displaced persons were able to use the Oselya program.

"It is important that these changes do not require separate legislation. This can be resolved at the level of subordinate acts, meaning only a corresponding decision from the Government is needed. One of our recommendations, which we formulated following the public consultations initiated by the Committee, was taken into account by the Cabinet. This concerns the possibility for displaced persons to purchase housing up to 10 years old, whereas previously they were limited to housing up to 3 years old. That is, new buildings, which are not affordable for everyone," — continues Shulyak.

However, even all these efforts to improve the lives of IDPs are still insufficient.

One of the main points is also facilitating integration into receiving communities. Unfortunately, some communities still view displaced persons as a temporary phenomenon.

"Human capital is one of the most important aspects of our recovery and statehood. Therefore, we need to take care of it. In particular, solving the housing issue for displaced persons will contribute to this integration. Communities that treat displaced persons as full-fledged, rather than temporary residents, can rightfully expect development because the settlement of displaced persons means more taxes for local budgets. Therefore, we need to create effective opportunities for them — tax preferences for starting their own businesses, the ability to acquire housing, opportunities to enroll children in schools and kindergartens, and to have jobs with decent wages, etc.," — says Shulyak.

Return of People to the Occupied Territories: Consequences for Ukraine

Georgiy Tuka believes that in this case, Ukraine loses people, primarily those who are pro-Ukrainian. The country’s reputation is also damaged due to its inability to care for its citizens. He noted that people are aware of the problems and lack of support from the state, and as a result, fewer and fewer individuals leave potentially dangerous populated areas to try to find refuge in the territories controlled by the central government.

Rozenko agrees that Ukraine is losing its human resources in this way while the country is currently in a demographic crisis. He mentioned that after the war ends, Ukraine will need to be rebuilt, and investments will come. According to him, people will turn these investments into wealth and development for the country.

"For an investor, the first question is the ease of doing business and the conditions created in the country, but the second, one of the most important, is the people. Who will work? Where to find people? We cannot afford to lose people," — emphasized the expert.

This opinion is shared by Yelena Shulyak. According to her, a human-centered approach is the foundation of Ukraine's democratic statehood. Accordingly, failing to care for the integration of people puts many processes for the development and recovery of the country at risk.

Recall that the press service of the Ministry of Reintegration reported that in Ukraine there is special support for displaced persons. The amount of assistance depends on the category of displaced persons.

Earlier, the Ministry of Social Policy noted that displaced persons could lose their right to living allowances in case of relocation