Ukraine's foreign minister believes "right tools" will bring Ukrainians back from abroad

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba believes that "the right tools and interaction" will encourage Ukrainians to return from abroad.

Source: Ukrinform, citing Kuleba at a joint press conference with Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Kuleba said that Ukrainians cannot be "pushed" to return home.

Quote: "We need to find the right words, the right tools and the right interaction. Here [when it comes to the issue of Ukrainians returning – ed.] we cannot push," Kuleba said, without specifying which tools he had in mind. 

Kuleba said the governments of the countries that have the largest numbers of Ukrainian citizens have indicated that while they are happy to have Ukrainians living and working there and adapting to their societies, they also want to help them to return.

"They [the governments] have very little room to manoeuvre, because you can’t do this by force. And it’s the same for us," the foreign minister said.

Kuleba pointed out that some Ukrainians abroad have nowhere to go back to, or are unable to return due to illness, the need to care for loved ones, or other pressing humanitarian difficulties.

"I think that if that group [of people] is set aside, for the remainder of Ukrainians who are now overseas, all of us here in this room, those who are now sitting their exams at universities, going to work in fields, in factories, or in business, serve as a clear proof that you can live, develop, and raise children in Ukraine," Kuleba said.

Background:

• In June, the European Commission proposed to extend the temporary protection for people fleeing Russian aggression against Ukraine for another year, from 5 March 2025 to 4 March 2026.
• In February, Kuleba called on Ukrainians who left Ukraine during Russia's full-scale invasion to return and help defend their homeland.
• Vsevolod Chentsov, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the EU, predicted that what he described as a "battle for Ukrainian citizens" would unfold between the EU member states and Kyiv.

Support UP or become our patron!