PACE Committee approves payments to Ukrainians returning from Europe after the war

50% of Ukrainian refugees living in Germany, Poland, and Czechia do not want to return to Ukraine, according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.

Half of the respondents said they would be willing to return to Ukraine someday if the conditions were right. Among these conditions, they named the normal operation of critical infrastructure (34%), security (34%), housing (26%), and the end of Russia's full-scale invasion (26%).

Ukrainian refugees in EU

The European Union activated the mechanism of temporary protection for Ukrainians on March 4, 2022, after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and automatically extended it for one year. Last year, EU countries decided to extend this mechanism until March 2025.

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said on May 9 that the European Commission had agreed to extend temporary protection status for Ukrainians in the EU.

4.9 million Ukrainians had left Ukraine because of the war. Most of them were in Germany and Poland, according to the Center for Economic Strategy, as of the end of January. The study indicates that up to 2.3 million people may stay abroad even after the war ends.