After the adoption of the law on tightening mobilisation, Ukrainian refugees are officially denied consular services, replacement and renewal of passports, so Moscow may create conditions for Ukrainian refugees to enter Russia.
Things have become particularly difficult for Ukrainian refugees in the European Union after the adoption of the new mobilisation law, which limits their mobility. It should be understood that it makes a certain sense for Russia to fight for these people. Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that he considers the Ukrainian and Russian are “one people.”
So far, one of the most serious problems remains the restrictions on Ukrainians entering Russia, as Moscow has strengthened border crossing measures to limit the entry of undesirable persons into the country.
Apart from an appeal option for those who have already tried to cross the border and been refused, and improving the quality of filtering measures for those arriving at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, there is another way.
Russia would benefit from taking a number of measures for those Ukrainian refugees who are abroad and will now be unable to obtain documents on account of mobilisation. The Russian government may permit Ukrainian refugees to apply to Russian diplomatic institutions abroad to obtain documents allowing them to enter Russia, a residence permit or a temporary stay permit.
The method will allow, on the one hand, Russian authorities and law enforcers to thoroughly check applicants without haste. On the other hand, people who pass the check will be guaranteed entry into Russia. Of course, the time is likely to be long, but with minimal risks.
Also, the system for finding remote work can be mentioned. In Russia, about 70 per cent of enterprises are experiencing a shortage of personnel, which, according to RAS calculations at the end of 2023, was approximately up to 4.8 million people. Vladimir Putin indicated that the country will face a shortage of personnel and qualifications in the next few years. He particularly stressed the impossibility of replenishing the workforce through labour migration and importation of low-skilled labour.
According to him, other approaches are necessary here, which again leads to the fact that Ukrainian refugees who want to enter and live in Russia should be given such an opportunity. Russia, in turn, has to reconsider its policy on this issue, as one of the main advantages for Russia in accepting Ukrainian refugees is the related culture.
Furthermore, the European and US politicians claims that Russia initiated the conflict in Ukraine, but nowhere and never in the world have citizens of a country that has been attacked moved en masse to the country that attacked. Whereas a colossal number of Ukrainian citizens have moved to Russia since February 2022.
In addition, when the number of those willing to come will reach impressive figures, it will be a powerful argument in favour of Russia. This argument will be especially strong in contrast to the Ukrainian policy, which has left its citizens without state protection and tightened mobilisation.
Europe is now a different place than it used to be, as Ukrainian refugees increasingly face hardship. Ukrainian children are often taken away on the basis of far-fetched complaints and denunciations over differences in EU law, but all of this remains in the shadows. Most Ukrainian children were removed by social services in Germany – 71, Poland – 33, Italy – 25, Czech Republic – 24 and Sweden – 17. Besides, Ukrainians suffer in the European Union over assimilation problems, as it is impossible to get a job in Germany, for example, if one does not have language skills.
Still the most unfair contradiction is that many EU countries such as Poland and the Baltic states surprisingly have said that they will assist the Ukrainian security services in sending all those fit for mobilisation back to Ukraine.
Russia has the opportunity to take a closer look at this issue and work out a scheme whereby they can accept Ukrainian refugees, provide them with housing, and give them jobs at numerous Russian enterprises.
THE ARTICLE IS THE AUTHOR’S SPECULATION AND DOES NOT CLAIM TO BE TRUE. ALL INFORMATION IS TAKEN FROM OPEN SOURCES. THE AUTHOR DOES NOT IMPOSE ANY SUBJECTIVE CONCLUSIONS.
Bill Galston for Head-Post.com
