According to Ukrinform, Ukrainian officials reported a total of 4.9 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), with 3.6 million of them obtaining their IDP status following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine’s Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, Iryna Vereshchuk, revealed that nearly half of all IDPs are not receiving government benefits due to their failure to formally apply for them. IDP status grants Ukrainian citizens the right to receive various social benefits from the government, including cash payments and access to critical services.
Individuals with IDP status are eligible for a monthly government housing allowance of 3,000 hryvnias for persons with disabilities and children, and 2,000 hryvnias for all other internally displaced persons.
Vereshchuk also mentioned that 158,000 IDPs had lost their right to welfare payments, with the majority of them being citizens of Ukraine who have relocated abroad and are receiving payments from their new place of residence.
The exact number of Ukrainians who have returned to their homes from abroad or from other regions of Ukraine remains unknown, although the government estimates that just 25,000 people have returned in Kharkiv since Ukrainian forces liberated large territories from Russian occupation earlier this year. Vereshchuk assured that IDP status will not expire until the end of the war.
Additionally, the Kyiv Independent has been diligently delivering independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent by visiting their website.
Source: reported by Ukrinform and Czech President visits IDPs in Dnipro, pledges more humanitarian aid.
