Approximately 150,000 internally displaced persons have returned to temporarily occupied territories, as they did not receive assistance from the government and were unable to start anew in controlled areas. This was stated by MP and member of the VR Committee on Human Rights, Maksym Tkachенко, in an interview with "Ukrinform".
"According to available data, 200,000 residents of Mariupol left their city to escape the war brought to our land by Russia. At the same time, one in three of them returned home to Mariupol, to the occupation. It is estimated that this is about 67,000 to 70,000 people. In my opinion, these are terrible figures," he noted.
He explained that the main reason for returning is that displaced persons could not start a new life in a new place. They have not received housing or social support from the state. Additionally, many IDPs were unable to find jobs due to employers' skeptical attitudes towards them, and all the job offers available to displaced persons are very low-paying.
"One could even speak of a certain discrimination against displaced persons in the labor market. Salaries often do not exceed 8,000 to 12,000 UAH, while the cost of renting housing in relatively safe regions of Ukraine starts from 10,000 UAH," he emphasized.
Moreover, when displaced persons find jobs, they lose the right to state payments to compensate for housing rental expenses, which amounts to about 2,000 UAH per month per person and 3,000 UAH for children and persons with disabilities. At the same time, there are very few places with humane living conditions available for free, the deputy added.
Support for IDPs - news
In November, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that a subsidy program for displaced persons in Ukraine will be launched for rental housing starting in mid-January 2025. Families spending more than 30% of their total income on rent will be able to take advantage of this option.
Additionally, in November, the Ministry of Social Policy introduced a range of services to support internally displaced persons, including a rental subsidy for IDPs, the expansion of the "municipal nanny" service, and supported living for elderly individuals.