Thursday12 December 2024
vsedelo.com

Vereshchuk denied claims about the return of displaced persons to occupied territories, stating that such a reverse movement is impossible.

Deputy Head of the President's Office, Irina Vereshchuk, has denied claims that some internally displaced persons are returning to temporarily occupied territories. She emphasized that the government has no information to support such statements.

She shared this in a comment to "Suspilne".

Vereshchuk reported that over the past few months, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has decreased by 250,000. This is due to some of the displaced individuals moving abroad, while others have returned to previously de-occupied territories in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions. She described the information regarding people returning to occupied areas as manipulation.

“Our borders with Russia and Belarus are closed. People can enter from occupied territories, but the reverse movement is practically impossible,” Vereshchuk noted.

The official also emphasized that during the full-scale war, Ukraine has allocated 150 billion hryvnias to support IDPs, making it the second-largest expense after defense.

What preceded this?

Earlier, MP and member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Human Rights, Maksym Tkachenko, stated that among the approximately 5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), 150,000 people have already returned to occupied territories. In particular, one in three Mariupol residents who left the city after its occupation eventually returned.

According to Tkachenko, the displaced individuals were unable to start a new life in areas controlled by Ukraine. They reportedly did not receive housing, social support, compensation, or employment.

Later, the MP retracted his statement about the number of displaced persons returning to occupied territories.

IDPs in Ukraine

According to data from the Ministry of Social Policy, as of October 22, there were 4.6 million displaced persons in Ukraine, which is 300,000 fewer than at the beginning of the year. The highest number of IDPs is registered in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.

Since the onset of the full-scale war, the government has supported citizens who were forced to become IDPs by introducing housing assistance.

As of March 1, payments have been extended, but not for everyone. Priority is given to those who are unable to work, care for children or seriously ill individuals, or for people with disabilities, as well as those without income or with low income.

In 2025, the government does not plan to increase assistance to IDPs but intends to provide subsidies for housing rent, as reported by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.