Ukrainian refugees – Kyiv’s chance for European integration?

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by one of our passionate readers, Mr. Yuri Mirovich, a ukrainian refugee who is a law student at the University of Groningen, Netherelands. The opinions expressed within reflect only the writer’s views and not necessarily The European Sting’s position on the issue.

Demographic and socio-economic catastrophe in Ukraine due to the war and dramatic outflow of the population made Kyiv create new institutions of power to stimulate the Ukrainians to return to the homeland on their own accord (the Ministry of National Unity, the Agency for National Unity and etc.).

The main goal of these institutions is to make up for a deficiency in employees, including in military-industrial companies. The ones who come back are promised to get a reservation from mobilization although there is no sufficient guarantee that repatriates won’t be sent straight to the frontline. 

However, not only the fear of forced mobilization stops Ukrainian refugees from returning to their home country. I’ve been living in the Netherlands since 2022 and after talking to the Ukrainians I’ve understood that most of us put in a lot of effort to find a job and a place to live for us and our families, to culturally adapt in the EU, so we can’t just leave all these things behind. Most refugees don’t have a place to return to.

Their houses and flats are either destroyed or situated on occupied territories. The government is allegedly working on the program to allocate flats and houses to internally displaced people but this doesn’t give us much faith due to the corruption which interferes with the implementation of all government projects. For example, money given to Ukraine didn’t help the country to restore its energy system.

This leads to regular power and heat cuts. Unfortunately, the Ukrainians’ security isn’t also a priority for Zelenskyy’s team. Low number of bomb shelters, proximity of military facilities to civil infrastructure, untimely evacuation from unsafe areas, as well as lack of civilians’ rights in terms of the abuse of power by military personnel and law enforcement officials, are now a routine for the Ukrainians.

The information about another lowering of mobilization age, the retreat of the Ukrainian army in many parts of the forefront, as well as increasing internal tension do not contribute to the refugees’ willingness to return to their home country.

And the most important thing is that the monopoly of military administrations on making decisions and harsh censorship in media deprive ordinary people and alternative political forces of an opportunity to influence events in the country. Thus, the temporary protection status in the EU gives Ukrainians rights and freedoms which Zelenskyy’s government won’t be able to give even in the long run. 

Ukrainian refugees living in the EU and integrating further and completely into the European society is the course of events which is more preferable for our country and people. Ukrainian refugees master new professions, give their children European education, get new experience of interaction with democratic institutions.

Even being in a difficult situation in the EU, Ukrainian refugees influence positively the humanitarian crisis in their home country by financing their relatives left with no means of support and by participating directly in implementation of European projects that help Ukrainian cities. After leaving for the EU the Ukrainians have managed to fully popularize the Ukrainian culture and language in Europe, continuing to draw the interest to Ukraine daily even in small towns.

It’s especially worth mentioning that after people from Eastern and Western Ukraine moved to the EU, they finally managed to unite and turn a blind eye to long-term contradictions. The Ukrainian government failed to help them do this back in Ukraine. Thus, by preserving our culture, getting new socio-cultural experience and EU citizenship, the Ukrainians can become a strong lobby for Ukraine in Europe in future.

Considering all these facts Kyiv’s current allocation of significant resources and sums of money on obviously doomed refugee return projects is completely irrelevant.

About the author

My name is Yuri Mirovich. I’m a ukrainian refugee. I’ve been living in the Netherlands since 2023 and I study law at the University of Groningen. While living in Ukraine I was engaged in active public work and now I’m member of the Dutch political initiative De Beweging. I would like to offer you a short article about difficult choice of ukrainian refugees: to return to Ukraine or to continue to remain in Europe.