Kyiv encourages return of refugees as long as they take “informed decision”

Aat the same time, according to Deputy Minister for Social Policy, Ilona Havronska, Kyiv authorities encourage host countries to maintain temporary protection and support for Ukrainians who have fled the conflict and who prefer to postpone the return decision.

“ We certainly want people to come home, but we want them to make their own decision voluntarily and independently. And we believe that a lot”, clarified the ruler in an interview with the Lusa agency during a visit to Lisbon.

The Ukrainian authorities estimate that about two million refugees have returned since the start of the large-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022, but another five million continue to be welcomed in Europe, of which almost 69 thousand in Portugal, according to UN data.

The Deputy Minister for Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine for European Integration points out studies on the attitude of Ukrainians abroad to return, which show that as long as the Russian invasion persists, this decision is postponed.

However, it notes that the percentage of those who do not currently make any return plan is decreasing and is around 30%.

“ The concern about the return is more pronounced among those who have some connection with Ukraine,” notes Ilona Havronska, as is the case with teleworking employees, who participate in actions to support their country or with children attending ‘online’ classes in Ukrainian schools, “and in these cases the predisposition to return is superior.”.

In any event, the Deputy Minister reinforces that the government’s task is “to find the best way to do so, as well as to provide all the information on the situation and support programmes in Ukraine” so that they can make a “conscious decision” if they consider returning.

“That’s why we are truly grateful to the European Union, Portugal, other European countries for their temporary protection, which allows people to make a choice without being forced,” he says, adding that “the ideal scenario is that the Russian Federation put an end to the war.”.

In July, the European Union extended the temporary protection status to 4.4 million Ukrainians in the Community by March 2028.

In Portugal, the deadline was extended in March for another year, including benefits of residence permits, access to the National Health Service, free education for minors and Social Income of Insertion for cases of verified need.

“ When it comes to support, it is never enough,” says the Ukrainian ruler, particularly when her country is focused on the war effort, but the conditions “continue to be the same as those given to the citizens of Portugal and therefore that is at least fair.”.

Ilona Havronska points out that refugees in Portugal have joined Ukrainian immigrants already established since the late 1990s, forming an estimated community of almost 90,000 people, mostly “economically active, integrated into the labour market or who have created their own businesses”.

In order to attract the return, the Deputy Minister lists platforms to provide Ukrainians with data on existing programmes in the country, together with contacts with European institutions and return support projects.

“ The idea is to support local communities in Ukraine so that they can support and integrate people by providing them with accommodation,” he explains, pointing out “already consolidated pilot projects”, with the participation of Germany and the Netherlands, and plans to extend them.

At the same time, it indicated that reforms are also being promoted in Ukraine's social system and a strategy to help 4.6 million internally displaced people estimated by Kyiv, largely from Russia's occupied regions, a figure approaching the total number of refugees in Europe.

“ We are rebuilding all systems, both at government and community level, to tackle this huge challenge. We want people to be treated as best as possible, all of them”, he points out, although he notes that “the possibilities are not unlimited”.

The situation of the Ukrainians in the occupied territories also deserves concern, particularly in Oleshky, in the Kherson region, in the south of the country, where the Kyiv executive has denounced in recent days a “hungry induced” by the Russian authorities to some 6,000 civilians.

“ We are facing a total humanitarian disaster, because people have no gas, electricity, food or health care, and the Russians do not allow them to have access to all this”, condemns Vice-Minister Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, reinforcing an appeal for the creation of a humanitarian corridor.

People close to the front are encouraged to withdraw, but “in the case of temporarily occupied territories, it is always painful because they are also Ukrainians who suffer” with the Russian invasion.

“We do not want this war, but this shows us that Ukraine is indeed a European country. We do not have a Russian mentality”, says the Ukrainian Vice-Minister, insisting on the urgency of reforms, along with the management of the conflict.

This “is the right time to do so”, she considers, taking account of a process of European integration that “is moving at a very fast pace”.

In this sense, it stresses that it is “a common goal to win this war”, warning for a “real threat to all of Europe”, when questioned about the rise of far-right forces near Moscow and withdrawals from social support to Ukrainian refugees in several Member States.

“ We are fighting for Ukraine, all over Europe, all civilized countries and all our European values. And our people deserve all the support and be treated with dignity ", stresses.

Ilona Havronska was in Lisbon for contacts with the Portuguese Government and to participate in the International Conference “Ukraine Women of the World in Action”, promoted by the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations, founded in 1948 in the United States.

The three-day conference, which ends today, was an initiative by the President of the Ukrainian Association in Portugal, Pavlo Sadokha, who died last week.

“It is a great sadness for the whole Ukrainian community in Portugal and around the world,” laments the ruler, hoping that the international meeting in the Portuguese capital will be a demonstration that “diaspora work is still very much alive”.