Photo credit: UNHCR
The number of Ukrainian refugees intending to return home is decreasing as the duration of displacement grows, yet many remain ready too return immediately once the security situation improves, stated UNHCR Representative in Ukraine Bernadette Castel-Hollingsworth in an interview with the Infofax-Ukraine agency.
She reported that UNHCR has just completed its seventh round of the Intentions Survey across 20 European countries, the results of which will be related shortly.
“We see that the number of people intending to return is decreasing. This is not unique to Ukraine. I have worked in many parts of the world, and whenever a displacement situation lasts for years, return intentions diminish,” Castel-Hollingsworth noted.
At the same time, the UNHCR Representative emphasized that refugees express a strong desire to return if the situation improves.
Castel-Hollingsworth noted that once peace and security guarantees are achieved, vulnerable groups – he elderly, women, persons with disabilities, and similar profiles – will likely be the first to return to Ukraine. Regarding the return of men who have left Ukraine, she refrained from predicting figures or trends, as this will largely depend on the lifting of martial law and matters of conscription and mobilization, which are the prerogative of the Ukrainian government.
