Return under pressure will not work: the Verkhovna Rada explained why Ukrainians abroad will look for a way to stay in Europe
The issue of the return of Ukrainians from abroad has long been one of the most pressing issues for the state, as it is related to the mobilization resource, demographic losses and the future of the labor market. During the war, this issue is increasingly exacerbated, but calls from representatives of state authorities to come back do not remove the main barrier that determines the behavior of people who have settled in other countries and are not ready to return to a space of constant danger.
What was stated in the Verkhovna Rada
The parliament stated that attempts to return Ukrainians from abroad through political signals or rigid mechanisms will not have the expected effect. Initiatives designed for a quick result, with such logic, will only push some people to search for new routes and new countries of residence within Europe.
People’s Deputy from the “Servant of the People” and member of the Committee on Economic Development Bohdan Kitsak stated that calls for Ukrainians abroad to return home to help the state are unlikely to bring the desired result.
According to him, even if special mechanisms for the return of men from abroad appear, citizens will look for ways to stay in Europe, changing their countries of residence.
Bohdan Kitsak is convinced that forced return cannot become an effective tool for mobilization, since the determining factor in this situation remains the lack of internal motivation to return to the country where hostilities are ongoing.
“Citizens simply will not be motivated to return. After all, many of them have spent significant amounts of money to leave and start living abroad. In addition, Ukrainians do not want to return to war conditions,” the MP said.
For this reason, according to the MP, it is not possible to count on the fact that mechanical pressure will ensure the flow of people back to Ukraine. People who have already taken root abroad will look for ways to avoid returning in such a situation.
What consequences are predicted in the event of forced steps
Separately, the MP drew attention to the risks for the migration situation in Europe, noting that attempts at deportation could trigger a new movement of Ukrainians between European Union countries. According to him, in the event of active cooperation between individual states with Ukraine on the issue of the return of men, people will begin to move to places where they will see fewer threats for themselves.
“Such an approach may not bring the desired result, but will instead create a new wave of migration across Europe. Just a few cases of such forced returns may worsen the situation and people will start moving from countries that will cooperate with Ukraine and deport people. But still, it will not work to replenish the ranks of the Armed Forces in this way,” the deputy predicts.
So, from Bohdan Kitsak’s statement, it follows that the problem of returning Ukrainians from abroad rests primarily on the security reality and on the personal decisions of people who have already spent resources on leaving and adapting in other countries. In such a situation, public appeals or tough instruments of influence, in his opinion, will not provide the desired result for the state, but may provoke further displacement of Ukrainians within Europe.
