Ukraine holds great promise for those returning after war, says Mykolayiv governor

“I think over 90% (of Ukrainians) will come back at least once to see what has changed, what has become better after the war,” Kim said.

“And when these people come back and see that it makes sense to stay here, they will stay.”

At the same time, many of those who left had never left their own region before, and “when they moved there, the only thing that stops them (coming back) is the need to start everything again, to do something, make changes, etc,” Kim said.

“That’s the biggest challenge in bringing people back, I don’t mean to offend, but I mean those who are inert in decision-making or quick decisions. These are mostly older people. This is really a problem.”

In order for people to return, it is also necessary for the authorities to support them, the governor emphasized.

“As long as the salary is higher and costs are lower somewhere else no one will return,” Kim said.

“I believe that Ukraine will be very promising. It’s a very promising country but will revive better after the war than it was before.”

Based on the experience of wartime migration in other countries, it is believed that a third of those who leave eventually return after the conflict ends, Ella Libanova, director of the Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies, said on Dec. 21.

“But I don’t believe in this either, and I think more will come back,” she said.

“This will mainly depend on the amount of time that women will be abroad, because each new month of their stay there deepens their adaptation – their knowledge of the local language improves, their children go to schools and universities, and mothers take on work.”