**Ukrainian Refugees Struggling to Survive**
Many displaced Ukrainians are living on the brink of poverty and struggling to afford rent. This is forcing thousands of them to move back to their homes in Russian-occupied areas.
A family from Lysychansk, Luhansk Oblast, recently returned to their home after finding it difficult to pay rent in Dnipro. They were not alone. An estimated one-third of the Ukrainian population, or 14 million people, left their homes in 2022 due to Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Despite the government‘s efforts to provide financial aid and housing for internally displaced persons (IDPs), many are struggling to make ends meet. In fact, only 40% of IDPs rely on humanitarian assistance from the state and international organizations to meet their basic needs.
The government’s financial aid policy has been revised, reducing the number of people receiving payments. The current allowance is around $45 per month for adults and $70 for children and people with disabilities. This is far less than the actual subsistence minimum, estimated at around $145.
**State Support Falls Short**
Ukrainian authorities have promised to provide free housing for IDPs, but many wait months to be housed. Activists say that this is due to inadequate management at the local and national level.
As of July 1, only 2,995 internally displaced people were living in temporary municipal lodgings, while 13,048 were on the waiting list. This has led some IDPs to return to Russian-occupied areas, where they face basic service shortages and the threat of prosecution for their Ukrainian identity.
A survey by the UN found that many IDPs live on the brink of poverty, with nearly half relying on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. The government’s revised financial aid policy has cut off more people from receiving payments, leaving them struggling to survive.
**Return to Russian Occupation**
An estimated 1,262 displaced persons returned to occupied territories over the last nine months, according to official data. However, some estimate that the number is much higher, with lawmaker Maksym Tkachenko suggesting that 150,000 people had left Ukrainian-controlled territories to return to Russian occupation.
Tkachenko later retracted his statement, but officials acknowledged the failed state policy for the displaced, without citing their numbers.
**Stories of Struggle**
One IDP, Antonina Palamarchuk, said she rented an apartment in Kyiv with her daughter after fleeing Myrnohrad. However, the cost exceeded her pension, leaving them struggling to make ends meet. A relative decided to return to Donetsk, occupied by Russia, because they had nowhere to live in Ukraine-controlled territory.
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