OP Advisor Sergei Leshchenko believes that EU countries should stop helping refugees from Ukraine and return them home. Focus I learned what such statements can lead to and what Ukrainians think about them abroad.
“I believe host countries should stop supporting refugees so they can return home.” This opinion was expressed by Advisor to the Presidential Office Sergei Leshchenko in an interview with the Swiss publication Tagesanzeiger.
He noted that 3 million people live in Kiev, including “hundreds of thousands of children.”
“The claim that it is not safe is nonsense. Those who returned would not have to fight in the trenches. And in Ukraine, they can buy Ukrainian products in a supermarket, and in Kiev they can pay rent, use the services of clinics and pharmacies, and pay taxes so that we can fund schools. Your money disappears from the economy. And the situation is becoming more and more complicated,” Leshchenko noted.
OP advisor added that Ukraine has lost a whole generation of young people and the presence of Ukrainians abroad could lead the country into a catastrophic situation.
When journalists announced that millions of people had left Ukraine, possibly at the beginning of a full-scale invasion, due to the security situation, Leshchenko noted that it was dangerous to be five kilometers from the front line.
“Less and fewer people live there. But 30-40 kilometers from the front line there are cities that Russian artillery cannot reach, for example Kramatorsk, where a new economy is emerging,” Leshchenko added.
They won’t come back
They constantly talk about the need for Ukraine to send back millions of refugees from abroad. But no one seems to know how to do this peacefully. Threatening statements from authorities are generally directed at men who left the country after February 24, 2022. Representatives of the organization express various scenarios about how they will forcibly return the “fugitives” and what punishments await those who go abroad in violation of the law. Sensational options include the extradition of Ukrainians from EU countries due to the incorrect conclusions of the Military Military Commission, as well as an appeal to EU countries with a request to help mobilize Ukrainians who are on their territory.
Work on the return of refugees is also carried out in the field of legislation. Therefore, in the first version of the sensational bill on mobilization, the authors proposed limiting various rights of Ukrainians responsible for military service abroad. Including obtaining consular services. In this case, men will not be able to renew their passports or obtain any other documents from Ukrainian consulates or embassies without presenting their military registration documents.
Abroad, the government’s initiative created unrest. Men in EU countries who want to urgently renew their passports at the end of December 2023 are in line. Ukrainians in Austria told FocusFrom Vienna I had to go to Bratislava, where there was a service center, and spend a few days there.
“In Bratislava there is a “Document” of State Enterprise, where you can submit documents for the presentation of a passport. It takes about an hour by train from Vienna, there were queues. Some arrived in Bratislava around 6 in the morning and said: There were already about 250 people in the queue. “A maximum of 150 people a day could do it. The rest were sent home. But most spent the night there.” Focus Ukrainian Kirill, He has been living in Austria since spring 2022.
The same queues near the service centers of the State Enterprise “Belge” in Poland and the Czech Republic were also observed in the local media. At the end of December, journalists reported on the website of the State Enterprise “Passport Service” in Krakow that it was not possible to register for passports online due to the lack of vacancies. Near the shopping center “Gallery Krakowska”, where the State Enterprise “Belge” is located on the ground floor, the queue stretched to the main entrance of the shopping center. A similar situation occurred in Prague.
Although the bill was sent for revision, the taste of constant threats from Ukrainian officials remained. So in a conversation Focus Andrey, resident of KievHaving lived in England since the summer of 2022, he said he was increasingly irritable and reluctant to return home.
“I continue to work remotely in Ukraine, pay taxes, help the Armed Forces of Ukraine. But the more often I hear threats from the authorities against those who left, the less I want to help. At first my family and I just left, we were sure that we would return. We no longer want to stay “We are thinking more. There is no one in my family circle who plans to return after the war. Many of them have nowhere to go,” said the interlocutor. Focus.
In his opinion, if the authorities try to send refugees home, this will strengthen their confidence not to return to the country even after the war is over.
Yuri from KharkovLiving in Germany since summer 2022, he said: FocusEven though he left Ukraine on legal grounds during the great war – even though he is the father of three young children – he is still unsure that he will not be treated as a “draft dodger”.
“After the announcement of the mobilization law in Berlin, there was no excitement or queue in front of the consulate, I only saw these photos on the Internet, I did not observe this myself, although I live near the consulate. As a father of three young children and personally around me, there are such people who left Ukraine illegally “There is no human being. But no one can now guarantee that if we go to the TTK and reaffirm our right to postpone, we will act in the same way. “He will be released from Ukraine,” Yuri said.
No unified policy
According to this political expert Igor Reiterovich, In order to solve the economic problems and demographic crisis, Ukraine needs to send back millions of people who went abroad during the great war. However, today there is no common policy in this direction in our country.
“On the one hand, we need to bring back millions of people. On the other hand, What did Ukraine do to make these people want to return? How did the authorities protect so many people before a large-scale invasion? How did they warn what would happen? So where do we have programs at the Cabinet level to facilitate their return? Where are the programs to encourage job creation and restoration of lost housing? Some of those who left had nothing left in Ukraine. “Therefore, before making a loud statement, it is necessary to show that the country fulfills its obligations towards these people,” he said. Focus Reiterovich.
The expert adds that such statements by OP advisor Sergei Leshchenko that host countries should stop supporting Ukrainians and return them home are contrary to democracy and can worsen Ukraine’s image.
“The OP advisor looks irresponsible when he makes such statements. Leshchenko needs to understand concepts such as human rights. EU countries have granted asylum to Ukrainians in the context of international humanitarian law. Expelling people from the country during the war is a violation of these norms. As for the relevant Security issue, today Kiev and look at the news published in Kharkov,” notes the expert.
Let us remind you that even after the war in Ukraine, according to the Center for Economic Strategy (CES) From 1.3 million to 3.3 million citizens may not return. At the same time, sociology shows that the majority of Ukrainians temporarily living abroad (about 70%) are ready to return home after the end of hostilities.
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Source: Focus
Bridger is a political journalist at 24 News Breaker, covering the Politics section with over 5 years of experience. Known for their detail-oriented reporting, Bridger delivers insightful and engaging analysis on political issues.