INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FORCED MIGRATION DURING THE WAR: CHALLENGES FOR UKRAINE

Анотація

The scale of migration processes as a result of the war creates a humanitarian
challenge that Ukraine has never faced in its modern history. The collection of statistical
information from various sources, as well as numerous sociological surveys in general,
provide a comprehensive statistical picture and geography of Ukrainians’ movements both
within the regions of Ukraine and abroad. According to the International Organization
for Migration (IOM), as of December 2022, about 5 million people were internally
displaced persons (IDPs) within Ukraine. As of the end of November, there are more
than 4 million Ukrainian refugees in mainland Europe. Most refugees with temporary
protection status are in Poland, followed by Germany and the Czech Republic, Spain,
France, Slovakia, Austria, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
The reasons for the return of both IDPs and refugees include the perception of
a security situation, reunifi cation with family, diffi culties in fi nding housing or work,
temporary return to collect belongings, see family or evacuate loved ones. Reasons
for not returning to Ukraine: families with children who will go to school or enter a
higher education institution abroad; those who have a higher education, speak foreign
languages, had a high level of income and are more mobile; people who planned to
leave Ukraine before the start of a full-scale war; those who seasonally or permanently
worked abroad; people with disabilities who receive better social and medical care
abroad and are less mobile, etc.
Migration challenges for Ukraine are: the continuation of hostilities and martial
law in the long term, which will be deepened by socio-economic and demographic
consequences; restoration of the full functioning of urban/rural infrastructure; the
increase in the level of unemployment and the burden on the state budget regarding the
payment of fi nancial assistance to both unemployed and displaced persons; development
of both short-term and long-term eff ective migration social policy regarding the return
of the majority of citizens with the adoption of relevant regulatory and legislative
documents, etc.
Key words: internally displaced persons, refugees, forced internal and external
migration processes.