Only 30% of those who fled the country due to the conflict are “seriously” considering returning home, Minister of National Unity Aleksey Chernyshov has said
The majority of Ukrainians who left the country over the past three years will not return to their homeland even after the military conflict ends, Minister of National Unity Aleksey Chernyshov has said, according to local media reports.
Millions of Ukrainians have left the country since the conflict with Russia escalated in 2022, with an estimated over 5 million still living abroad. Kiev wants them back as it seeks to repair the country’s demographics and also have more human resources on hand for the post-conflict reconstruction.
When the security situation stabilizes in the country, 30% of Ukrainians could return as they are “seriously considering coming back,” local media cited Chernyshov as saying on Tuesday.
“We also clearly understand that a significant portion of Ukrainians will not return,” the national unity minister said. “They have decided to stay where they are. This is not a catastrophe, it must be acknowledged.”
Chernyshov said that Kiev is developing measures to encourage people to return and cited statistics indicating that Ukraine loses 300,000 people annually for reasons unrelated to the conflict.
“For post-conflict recovery and doubling Ukraine’s GDP within 10 years, it will be necessary to attract between 3.1 to 4.2 million repatriates and immigrants,” he noted.
A study by Ukrainian think tank the Center for Economic Strategy (CES) published last week found that around 5.2 million Ukrainian refugees remain abroad, of which 60% plan to settle outside their homeland. Meanwhile, the share of those considering returning home had dropped to 43% by the end of 2024, compared to 74% in December 2022.
The exodus peaked in March 2022, when around 2.5 million people left the country within weeks. Since then, the outflow has slowed, with around 300,000 people departing Ukraine last year, the CES said. The agency estimates that up to 2.7 million Ukrainians may choose to remain abroad permanently, even after the conflict ends.
The majority of refugees are women and children, while Germany and Poland are the most popular destinations, a Eurostat report published earlier this month showed. The report also revealed that the share of adult men fleeing Ukraine has jumped by nearly 10% over the past year amid the massive mobilization campaign.
This prolonged emigration could have devastating consequences for Ukraine’s economy. CES projects it could reduce the country’s annual GDP by 5.1% to 7.8%.
According to the think tank, the primary reasons Ukrainians are not currently returning home include the ongoing security threats, destroyed housing, low living standards, and difficulties in securing employment in Ukraine.
