Displacement in Ukraine – A Longer Story

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 emphasizes a defining moment in a war that has been going on in Eastern Ukraine since 2014. These were two stages of the same conflict. The consequences of the full-scale invasion are devastating, yet both stages led to the displacement of millions of people, with some displaced for a second, or third time. In such situations, the previous experiences of forced, internal displacement affect people’s motivations, aspirations, and coping strategies during further displacement and emplacement.

As of 2021, after the Russian annexation of Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine, approximately 1.45 million people in Ukraine have been officially registered as internally displaced persons (IDPs) (UNHCR 2021). Most IDPs settled in bigger cities and regions closest to home, such as Donetsk and Luhansk regions under Ukrainian control, and in the neighboring regions of Eastern Ukraine. The full-scale invasion affected these regions and cities with the largest population of IDPs, such as Mariupol, the most. Although no exact data on the previously displaced persons among Ukrainian refugees who have a temporary status in Europe is available, a representative survey in Germany, for example, shows a large number of people from the most affected regions (Brücker et al. 2023).

Internal displacement is a famously overlooked issue, not only in global politics but also in academic writing. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are often called people out of place. They are not foreigners but usually citizens of the state where they reside. Yet, they often face administrative discrimination and marginalization in the host communities and have to go through a process of integration. Despite no significant ethnic or religious differences between the IDPs from Eastern Ukraine and those living in the rest of the country, the ‘newcomers’ often face administrative hurdles and problems accessing housing and work. In 2021, seven years after the start of the war and into the protracted displacement, IDPs reflected on their conditional position as Ukrainian citizens in their interactions with the state (Tarkhanova 2023).

Displaced Again, and Why It Matters?

In the summer of 2022, with a colleague in Ukraine, we conducted a qualitative study with in-depth interviews, trying to understand how people decided to leave their homes and how they chose where to go. This seems important given the particular circumstances of this war, namely the sudden Russian attack across the country, and the fact that Ukrainians could freely and relatively easily move in Europe and gain access to support under the temporary protection scheme, which however significantly differed in each country. Without considering the regions occupied since 2014 for our small sample (21 persons displaced abroad), we still interviewed two people who had been displaced for a second and third time since 2014 (Tarkhanova and Pyrogova, forthcoming).

Our findings presented an array of arguments and reasonings that people integrated into their decision-making process. Some were more common, like having social ties in a particular country or travel companions on a particular route. Others were more peculiar, like choosing a country as far away as possible while expecting the war to spread to Eastern and Central Europe. The narratives of people who had to leave their homes before as internally displaced stood out in a way that I found significant, despite the small sample.

Unlike the rest of the people we talked to, previously displaced persons did not expect the war to end soon. This common expectation of a quick resolution defined the initial migration choices. For many, it meant that the first destination of their migration route was not the last, and they had moved on once the timeframe expanded. People who have been forcibly displaced before (often more than once) strategically sought a destination that could provide a viable future and not just an immediate and temporary safety. They had usually invested more time and effort into planning their migration journeys and, more importantly, into their life in a new place, particularly regarding education for children and language skills.

This group of people is also more likely to have nowhere to return because of occupation or destruction of housing. Over 90% of people in Ukraine live in the housing they own (Fedoriv and Lomonosova 2019), due to the privatization campaign following the fall of the Soviet Union and cultural expectations. If this housing is destroyed or unreachable, renting in a limited housing market becomes a significant obstacle for many, due to a nearly non-existent social housing program in Ukraine. That is why, since 2014, housing has been the most significant social issue reported by the internally displaced persons in Ukraine.

Policy Consequences

People displaced to Switzerland because of Russia’s war in Ukraine remain in a precarious legal situation under the temporal protection of Status S, despite obvious advantages in their access to the labor market and state social welfare that it provides. They are aware of the looming expectation of return – both from the Ukrainian state and civil society, as well as the legal preconditions of the temporary protection mechanism. Those who come from the most war-affected regions and have no intact housing of their own, particularly the previously internally displaced persons, will be more interested in changing their migration status, and finding ways to remain in the country of their residence.

This, however, should not be considered separate from the policy developments in Ukraine. There are 4.9 million officially registered internally displaced persons in Ukraine (MSP 2023). They benefit from the extensive international support and the existing infrastructure to regulate and cope with displacement, while still facing numerous challenges. Current Ukrainian state policies towards IDPs were developed in a tight space between structural conditions, budget feasibility, and pressure from civil society to ensure equal access to citizenship rights.

Suppose the war enters a protracted phase and the temporary protection for Ukrainians abroad is lifted. In this case, the forced migrants in Switzerland, similarly to other European countries, will be making their migration decisions and devising strategies to ensure a viable future with a contingent consideration of safety, access to housing, and social provisions in Ukraine.

Dr. Oleksandra Tarkhanova is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Sociology at the University of Neuchâtel in the nccr – on the move project “Dealing with Crises and Liminal Situations: The Agency of Ukrainian and Syrian Forced Migrants in Three National Contexts,” and at the Center for Governance and Culture in Europe at the University of St. Gallen with her project on citizenship negotiations in Eastern Ukraine.

References:

-Brücker, H. et al. (2023). Ukrainian Refugees in Germany: Evidence From a Large Representative Survey.
-Fedoriv, P. and Lomonosova, N. (2019). Housing Policy in Ukraine.
-MSP (2023). Ministry of Social Policy.
-Tarkhanova, O. (2023). Shades of protracted displacement: Reconciling citizenship and the status of internally displaced in Eastern Ukraine
-Tarkhanova, O. and Pyrogova, D. (forthcoming). Forced displacement in Ukraine: understanding the decision-making process.
-UNHCR (2021). Ukraine – 2021 Plan Summary.