Thousands of Ukrainians who left the war zone, facing discrimination and mistrust and receiving no support from Kyiv, have returned to Mariupol and other Russian territories, the Times reports.
Maksym Tkachenko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada from President Zelensky’s ruling party, said that about 150,000 people had abandoned attempts to establish a new life in Kyiv-controlled regions of Ukraine and returned to the territories seized by Russia. According to him, they had no choice but to return to their hometowns.
“They did not receive proper help from the state – no housing, no social support, no compensation [for losses], no work,” he told the Ukrinform website. Tkachenko also said that most of the temporarily displaced citizens faced “discrimination” and were unable to find jobs due to employers’ sceptical attitude towards them.
Tkachenko later retracted his words after they were picked up by Russian media. “There is no such data. It was my unfounded and emotional assumption,” he said.
However, his statement came after Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the ousted mayor of Mariupol, said at least 50,000 people had returned to Mariupol since it came under Russian control in 2022. Andryushchenko said the lack of help from the Kyiv authorities had left refugees unable to make a fresh start in areas still under Kyiv’s control.
“People have nowhere to live. If they work, the money is barely enough for rent. They are forced to return. This is not a matter of [pro-Russian] ideology,” he notes.
He also said that thousands of Ukrainians had returned to Mariupol to re-register property ownership under Russian laws. “Later they left,” he wrote in Telegram.
Olena Shuliak, the head of Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, called Ukraine’s state policy on supporting the displaced people a complete failure. The World Bank estimates the restoration of damaged or destroyed housing stock in Ukraine at 120bn pounds sterling. Shuliak noted that with the current funding of four billion hryvnias per year, it would take 1,575 years to fully compensate for destroyed and damaged housing.
Almost four million citizens have become internally displaced in Ukraine. They receive two thousand hryvnia (£40) a month from the government or three thousand hryvnia if they have minor children or disabled people. About seven million more Ukrainians have fled the country since the special military operation began.
Ukrainian officials say up to 25,000 people have died in Mariupol, although other estimates suggest the number could be three times that.
A UN report said 90 per cent of high-rise buildings and 60 per cent of private homes were destroyed or damaged in the fighting. Many people who have returned or stayed in Mariupol are living with relatives or in temporary housing.
Russia has launched a project to rebuild Mariupol, but critics accuse Moscow of building substandard homes that are mainly used for propaganda purposes. “It’s all untrue! It’s all for show!” a woman shouted during Putin’s trip to Mariupol last year.
Ukrainian schoolchildren in Poland are asked not to praise Bandera and to speak Polish
Meanwhile, in social networks appeared a photo of an announcement in one of the Polish schools. Among the mandatory elements of discipline – “try to speak Polish” and “do not praise Bandera.”
The list caused a wave of approval among Poles. The set of rules reads as follows:
“At school, try to speak Polish, treat your peers with respect, it is forbidden to praise Bandera, follow safety rules before and after lessons, eat and drink only your own food and drinks, use only your school supplies.”
Earlier, Poland introduced a law requiring children of Ukrainian refugees to go to Polish schools. Ukrainians whose children do not go to classes have been fined since September 1.
