In 2025, about 6.9 million Ukrainians remain abroad due to the war, while migration dynamics in Ukraine in the fourth year of the war are still negative.
Returning people from abroad is a challenging task for the authorities and a crucial issue for society. To motivate people to repatriate, it is necessary to create both effective institutional mechanisms and a favourable psychological atmosphere. Post-war Ukraine will be confronted with all the negative consequences of depopulation, such as shortages in the labour market and an increasing tax burden on businesses. Regardless of how Ukrainian citizens come back, the state will need to attract significant numbers of labour migrants, which will, in turn, pose new integration challenges.
The government’s policy framework to encourage the return of Ukrainians home is a work in progress, with only several strategic documents already developed. A ministry of national unity has been tasked with coordinating the efforts of other government agencies and designing a unified approach to repatriation policy. It is likely that the end of the hot phase of the war will become a trigger for the start of intensive reconstruction in Ukraine and the implementation of the strategy to bring Ukrainians home.
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