Over 8.5M Ukrainians leave country since start of Russian aggression – Ombudsman

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, on Telegram following the Global Ukrainian Summit.

“I joined the Global Ukrainian Summit and would first like to thank the organizers for this important initiative. We are dealing with alarming figures: according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 5.7 million Ukrainians have left the country since 2022, and if we count from the beginning of Russian aggression in 2014, the number reaches 8.5 million people. This is a global challenge that requires coordinated action,” Lubinets said.

According to the Ombudsman, “the first key protection mechanism must remain the international temporary protection status. It should remain in force as long as active hostilities continue in Ukraine and should primarily apply to vulnerable categories of citizens. For its part, the Ombudsman’s Office is developing a systematic international support network of representatives and advisers who provide direct assistance and consultations to Ukrainian citizens abroad to help protect their rights.”

Lubinets noted that, in addition to assisting Ukrainians abroad with documentation issues, authorities are also dealing with troubling cases involving the removal of Ukrainian children by foreign agencies.

“We have an example in Italy, where a child was removed from their family and placed under the guardianship of foreign citizens,” he said.

The Ombudsman stressed that international humanitarian law explicitly prohibits the adoption of children from countries where a war is ongoing.

“We respond firmly to such cases and call on our international partners to pay close attention to this issue,” he said.

“We all sincerely want our people to return home, but appeals alone are not enough. Two conditions are necessary: reliable international security guarantees and a separate international housing initiative, without which a large-scale return will not happen,” Lubinets emphasized.

He added: “We are waiting for every Ukrainian man and woman to come home. Together with our partners, we must join efforts to ensure decent living conditions and give millions of our citizens a real opportunity to live in their own country.”

As reported by Ukrinform, according to Minister of Social Policy, Family, and Unity of Ukraine Denys Uliutin, the Unity Centers that Ukraine is opening in countries with large Ukrainian communities will not provide consular services. However, Ukrainians will be able to receive consultations from representatives of the Pension Fund and the state enterprise Document, as well as participate in educational and cultural events.

Photo: Dmytro Lubinets / Telegram