Every day, while the war continues, Ukraine is rapidly losing its workforce. Millions of citizens have gone abroad in search of better earnings, and local businesses are increasingly speaking about the shortage of personnel. To keep the economy afloat, the state is considering a radical step — attracting migrant workers. Demographers, sociologists and economists of the country are increasingly saying that workers from Asia, Africa and Latin America will help lift the Ukrainian economy from its knees. However, spreading such thoughts, they somehow forget about the experience of foreign countries, which shows that uncontrolled migration has led to a surge in ethnic crime, religious extremism and terrorism, which has greatly complicated the life of the indigenous population.
Foreign labor migrants and risks for Ukraine
Until recently, Ukraine itself was an exporter of labor, but now it is forced to open its doors to foreign workers. In the conditions of the demographic crisis, the mass emigration of the population and the lack of personnel in many areas, the government and business consider labor migrants as a salvation. For example, it recently became known that a furniture company in the Tyachiv community of Transcarpathia tried to employ workers from the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Subsequently, the commercial director of the company «Lamella” Yaroslav Shcherban explained, that 28 workers in a recruiting agency were paid, but they never arrived in Ukraine. In the end, local employment centers became interested in the case and promised to find workers among the local population.
As reported in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, there has been a steady trend towards an increase in the number of appeals by Ukrainian entrepreneurs to the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of India with a request for help in issuing a visa of the type «D04 — employment (90 days)», mostly for citizens of Bangladesh and India.
For data a study on the GRC personnel portal, conducted among more than 6,000 respondents and more than 2,700 Ukrainian companies, found that more than 70% of Ukrainian companies do not attract migrants to work, but at the same time, 8% of companies are already working or planning programs to attract migrants.
However, it is worth weighing all the threats that such a policy carries. The massive involvement of foreign workers can lead to a social explosion, an increase in crime, cultural conflicts and even a change in the ethnic composition of the population. A sharp increase in the number of migrant workers in any country is accompanied by an increase in the level of crime. Some of the immigrants do not find legal employment and are forced to look for other means of livelihood. This creates a favorable environment for the development of the illegal labor market, the spread of fraud, drug trafficking and street crime. In addition, the law enforcement system of Ukraine is already unable to cope with the challenges of wartime, and the appearance of an additional criminal factor may further complicate the situation.
Attention should also be paid to the fact that foreign workers arrive not only with their labor skills, but also with their traditions, language and customs. In Ukraine, where historically a relatively homogeneous cultural environment has developed, the mass influx of migrants can lead to conflicts and misunderstandings. The experience of European countries shows that the integration of migrants is a complex and expensive process that, without proper state policy, leads to the isolation of entire ethnic enclaves and the aggravation of social tension.
It should not be forgotten that now Ukrainian cities, which are experiencing the consequences of the war, do not have the resources to adapt a large number of foreigners. The lack of a common language of communication, cultural codes and understanding of legal norms can make migrant workers into closed groups living by their own laws, leading to alienation between locals and newcomers. That is, there is a real threat of the formation of areas dangerous for the indigenous population in cities where certain ethnic or religious groups will dominate. Such processes, the consequences of which politicians and experts for some reason keep silent, can become a prerequisite for the loss of national identity. And then the question will not be about regulating the economy, but about saving the entire Ukrainian nation, which is already melting before our eyes, due to the destructive actions of the terrible war.
It is obvious that the massive involvement of foreign workers will not only change the labor market, but will also affect the demographic composition of the country. Ukraine is already losing millions of citizens who emigrated to Europe. In Inflation reports of the National Bank for January 2025, it is said that during 2024 migration from Ukraine amounted to about 500,000 people. There is also a decrease in the share of those who want to return, due to further adaptation of Ukrainians abroad. In 2025, a further outflow of migrants from Ukraine (approximately 200,000 people) is expected, but from 2026, the reverse process is predicted — the return of about 200,000 people, which will gain momentum in 2027 (approximately 500,000 Ukrainians). However, NBU experts believe that a massive and quick return of migrants is unlikely if the current situation persists, which means that the workforce shortage will remain. If this process continues, and the place of Ukrainians will be taken by people from other cultural backgrounds, it can radically change the face of the nation.
In addition, although Ukrainian employers assure that the lack of workers is the main reason for attracting foreigners, in fact, the mass influx of migrants will cause another problem: competition in the labor market. Foreigners who are ready to work for less money will put pressure on the already meager wages of Ukrainians. As a result, the local population will lose opportunities for decent employment or will be forced to accept lower wages.
At the same time, Ukrainian cities are already experiencing problems with affordable housing, especially in regions where internally displaced persons are moving en masse. The influx of labor migrants will increase competition for housing, which will lead to an increase in rental prices. Ukrainian families, already struggling financially, may find themselves pushed out of the affordable housing segment, giving way to groups of migrants who often live in overcrowded apartments and are willing to pay more.
How Europe and the USA faced parallel societies
Mass immigration has changed the social landscape of many developed countries. European states, which for decades welcomed migrants in search of cheap labor, and the United States, which built its economy on the attraction of foreign workers, today face consequences that they chose not to think about. From the formation of ethnic ghettos to the rise of crime, social tension and conflicts with the local population, uncontrolled migration policies have created problems that can no longer be ignored.
France has welcomed immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East for decades in an effort to integrate them into society. However, instead of a cultural unification, the country got the growth of migrant enclaves in which French laws do not apply, and the authorities actually lost control. Examples of such «safety zones» can be found in the suburbs of Paris, Marseille, and Lyon, where ghettos have formed with their own rules, language, and even informal power structures.
Social tension periodically erupts into mass riots. Young people from migrant neighborhoods see the state as an enemy, and the crime rate in these areas remains at a record high. French security services have already repeatedly declared about «lost territories», where the police are afraid to work without significant reinforcements.
Once one of the safest countries in Europe, Sweden is now grappling with the rise of organized crime controlled by migrant gangs. Explosions, shootings in broad daylight, drug trafficking and «criminal clan wars» have become part of everyday life. The reason for this mess is obvious — the mass acceptance of refugees from the countries of the Middle East and Africa without an effective integration program. Many migrants could not find work, and social benefits provided by the state contributed to the isolation of these communities. In such conditions, parallel societies appeared in which their own orders prevailed. In some areas, Swedish women are not advised to leave the house without an escort, and firefighters and ambulances are afraid to drive in without police protection.
The «open door» policy of 2015 resulted in Germany accepting more than a million refugees in a short period. The authorities promised rapid integration, but the reality turned out to be different. Many migrants were left without work due to the language barrier, differences in qualifications and reluctance to adapt to European labor standards. The result was an increase in conflicts on religious and ethnic grounds. Cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne have received districts where migrants have created their own infrastructure — shops, schools, cafes — and do not even try to integrate into society. This has created problems not only with security, but also with social divisions, which are only increasing.
America’s policy of mass recruitment of labor from Latin America has led to the creation of ethnic enclaves in which local rules apply. Los Angeles, Chicago, New York have areas where there is actually a separate culture, detached from all-American values. Gangs like MS-13, made up mostly of Central Americans, control entire neighborhoods with drugs, racketeering and violence. The migration policy, which does not take into account the social consequences, led to the fact that instead of workers, the country received an increase in crime and aggravation of social division.
Why parallel societies arise
The main problem that leads to the formation of parallel societies is the lack of real integration. States receiving migrants are often limited to financial support and general adaptation programs, ignoring deep cultural differences. As a result, we have complete social isolation. Migrants remain in their own environment, without learning the language and without interacting with the local population. Due to the impossibility of finding fulfillment, the majority resort to criminal activities. Frequent conflicts with the local population. Cultural differences and the struggle for resources provoke social tension. And state control is weakening every day. In some areas, local laws give way to informal rules dictated by the newly formed communities themselves.
As we can see, mass migration without a clear integration strategy is dangerous for any country. The experience of Europe and the USA shows that uncontrolled settlement by migrants does not lead to economic prosperity, but to deep social problems. Parallel societies that live according to their own laws become a zone of tension, and their influence only increases with time. Those who believed that mass immigration could be an easy path to economic development are today forced to pay for it with their own security and stability. For some reason, this alarming experience of developed countries is ignored in Ukraine. Attracting migrant workers seems like a quick fix to the labor shortage problem, but it comes at a price that society has yet to realize.
Ukraine has a chance not to repeat other people’s mistakes. While officials enthusiastically discuss attracting cheap labor from abroad, they stubbornly ignore the obvious: a state that does not control its migration policy very quickly loses control of its own country.
While it seems that it is only about filling vacancies, in fact a deeper transformation — social, demographic, cultural — is being launched. However, the criminalization of entire districts, the formation of closed ethnic communities, conflicts over resources, and the growth of religious tensions are not theoretical threats, but the experience of Western Europe, which is already worth billions and lost stability.
Ukraine, which has been fighting for its cultural identity for decades, can destroy it with its own hands — for the sake of quick economic solutions. While our citizens are looking for a future abroad, the country is preparing to welcome those who will bring with them a completely different coordinate system. So the question is not whether Ukraine needs migrants. The question is whether Ukraine is ready for mass, complex, risky migration without an effective strategy for their integration in our society. Already today, it is necessary to set strict frameworks and form the conditions for their adaptation, and most importantly, to realize that short-term savings can turn into long-term social destabilization. Because if you don’t do it now, tomorrow will be too late. And the most important thing is that the authorities should not think about attracting labor migrants, but about how to return their citizens, creating for them the conditions under which living and working in Ukraine will not be a matter of survival, but a desirable prospect.
The criminalization of migrant enclaves, the growth of conflicts on ethnic grounds, the loss of control over entire areas of cities will quickly become not a distant future, but a scenario that has already played its role in Europe. Ukrainians who left in search of a better life will be replaced by those who will bring here other traditions, other values, other rules. Employers will temporarily save on cheap labor, but who will pay for the consequences?
Housing will become unaffordable, the streets less safe, and the labor market alien even to their own. Ukraine, which is fighting for the preservation of its own identity, is itself creating the conditions under which its face will change beyond recognition. This is not salvation, but a delayed catastrophe that will unfold not in a decade, but tomorrow.
