Poll says 17% of displaced Ukrainians not planning to return to country

Nearly 17 percent of Ukrainian citizens who fled the country due to Russian aggression have already decided not to go back to Ukraine after the war ends.

That’s according to Olha Aivazovska, political programs coordinator at the OPORA Civic Network, who spoke on the air of the Ukrinform: Evening Stream show.

"We ran a survey in eight countries. Seven countries, plus Poland separately. Some 55% of citizens live the same lifestyle as they had in Ukraine. That is, their economic and financial situation has not improved. In Ukraine, they lived no worse than they do now in Europe. Some 22% lived better in Ukraine than they live now abroad. And only 17% significantly improved their financial situation. And about 17% plan to stay there, even after the end of the war. They have already made up their mind," said Aivazovska.

According to the expert, there are currently about 33 million citizens remaining Ukraine, while nearly 1.5 million Ukrainians live in the territories temporarily beyond Ukraine’s government control.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the absolute majority of displaced Ukrainians abroad and internally displaced persons plan or hope to return home.