150,000 IDPs have returned to occupied territories, 70,000 to Mariupol alone – Ukrainian MP

Mariupol as of May, 2022. Stock photo: AFP via Getty Images

Maksym Tkachenko, a Ukrainian MP from Servant of the People party, states that over 150,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) have returned to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, with approximately one-third of those who fled during the full-scale war returning to Mariupol.

Source: Maksym Tkachenko, member of the parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, De-occupation and Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, National Minorities and Interethnic Relations, in an interview with Ukrinform news agency 

Quote: “Already, around 150,000 internally displaced people have returned to the temporarily-occupied territory.

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According to available data, 200,000 Mariupol citizens fled their city to escape the conflict that Russia had brought to our land. At the same time, one-third of them returned home, to Mariupol, to live under occupation. It appears that there are around 67-70,000 people there. I think those are horrible figures.”

Details: The main reason for the return of internally displaced individuals to the occupied territories, according to Tkachenko, is that they were unable to start a new life in Ukrainian-controlled territory because they “did not receive proper assistance from the state – no housing, no social support, compensation, work, etc.”

According to him, a big percentage of IDPs “could not find work because of the sceptical attitude of employers towards them, and all those offers that are provided to IDPs are actually very low-paid.”

He asserted that these people face prejudice in the labour market. According to Tkachenko, their incomes seldom reach UAH 8,000-12,000 (US$194 to US$290), while the cost of renting housing in Ukraine’s relatively safe districts begins at UAH 10,000. At the same time, when IDPs start working, they lose their entitlement to receive state assistance to cover the expense of renting accommodation. At the same time, there are very few sites that provide “acceptable living conditions” for free.

Tkachenko stated that there are currently over 5 million internally displaced people in Ukraine.

“We’re talking about about five million people. Why approximately? Because, on the one hand, the number of IDPs has increased due to the enemy’s advancement… On the other hand, the number of IDPs is decreasing as individuals return home, in particular to temporarily occupied territories, or…