As the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year, the authorities in Kyiv are determined to bring Ukrainians abroad back to the country. This is not surprising, given that a peace process is expected to start in 2025. The terms on which Russia and Ukraine would be ready to sit down at the negotiating table are not yet clear, but both sides are seeking to further strengthen their negotiating positions by that date, mainly on a territorial basis. Rebuilding war-torn Ukraine, its destroyed energy infrastructure and residential buildings will be essential, and this unlikely will be done solely with the help of migrant workers. As a pre-condition to realise the incredibly difficult task of bringing Ukrainians refugees back to Ukraine, the Ministry for National Unity was created last year and a number of measures have been taken to achieve this very goal.
The government in Kyiv finds itself in a very difficult position, as surveys show that some 35-40 percent of Ukrainians who have fled abroad do not want to return home even after the end of the war in Ukraine, and this position is quite understandable. In addition, recent polls conducted in Ukraine show that of those who have remained in Ukraine, a further 20 percent would move abroad if the borders were opened at the end of the war and all travel restrictions were lifted. In this situation, Kyiv seems to have no choice but, under the guise of ’reunification’, to get together those it can rely on in the future. This process has already begun with negotiations with the German, Czech and Polish governments on the return of Ukrainian refugees from these countries to Ukraine.
It also should be noted that, in parallel with all these developments, another discussion has started in Europe, namely the consequences of the outflow from the EU economy of Ukrainians who have been integrated in the European labour market for the past three years. The loss of these workers could lead to labour shortages, directly impacting labour markets and inflationary processes, Reuters says.
With regard to this issue, here are some small but important details.
➢ It is worth emphasising first that the cynicism of the Ukrainian government is clearly demonstrated by the fact that the future centres for returning Ukrainian refugees will be called ’Unity hubs’, as Ukraine’s Deputy PM and Minister for National Unity Oleksiy Chernysov said. Thank you, Minister, for reminding us about unity, but your motives have nothing to do with unity. In fact, the meat market in Ukraine is running out of meat, so it needs fresh supplies, and you have promised Mr Zelensky that you will obtain them. This is the painful truth.
➢ The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is preparing a significant expansion of digital consular services for Ukrainians abroad in 2025. Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said that the e-Consul system should be fully operational this year, which will simplify access to consular services. Ridiculous attempt to persuade Ukrainians abroad not to abandon Ukrainian citizenship…
➢ On 22 January, President Zelenskyy has congratulated Ukrainians on the Day of Unity, highlighting that in 2022, they chose not the path of division and discord but the path of unity and struggle to defend their country. ’For generations, our people lived under foreign flags and traditions, told how to live, speak, think, whom to love, and whom to hate. This is what it means to lose statehood, to lose independence.’, he said in his speech. It is impossible not to add that in those ’dark times’, Ukrainians lived in peace and no one had to die in a senseless war.
➢ Lastly, the governments of Germany, Poland and Czechia, which have so far claimed to be friends of the Ukrainians, have now revealed that they are not friends of those millions who have found refuge in their countries and, who have been boosting their economies for the past three years, but they are the friends of Kyiv. Here is a lesson for you: never trust politicians! (According to data by Eurostat, around 4.2 million Ukrainian refugees reside in the EU under temporary protection, with the largest numbers living in Germany, Poland and Czechia. Germany alone has provided a safe haven for 1.2 million Ukrainians.)
Ukrainians should return to Ukraine of their own free will and not because the German or Ukrainian leaders, motivated by their own political interests are calling for it. There must be peace first, everything else including the return of refugees to Ukraine should come only after that!
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