WSJ: Ukrainians do not want to return to freezing country, exacerbating EU problems
Electricity shortages in Ukraine are forcing millions of refugees to flee the country for much longer than previously planned.
The Wall Street Journal writes about this, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Kyiv’s call for its diaspora to stay abroad forces many to once again turn their lives upside down and turn a temporary flight into a permanent move.
Russia's attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure are forcing millions of Ukrainian refugees who intended to return home to stay put, prolonging their ordeal and reducing Europe's ability to absorb one of the largest migrant flows in decades.
It is noted that “more than half of the country’s generating capacity was disabled, along with most of the distribution network.”
The publication points out that there are almost eight million Ukrainian refugees in Europe, many of whom had hoped to return home in the fall, but who are now “facing the prospect of a more permanent exodus, forced to find work and send their children to local schools.”
“And for host countries, that means the bill is likely to rise as the continent faces recession, uncertainty about its own energy supplies and more refugees arriving from the Middle East and elsewhere,” the story said.
Journalists also spoke directly with refugees.
“I'm not afraid of bombs, but without electricity, water and heating you can't work or lead a normal life,” said Lisa Chernyakova, who fled with her partner to Berlin in March and has since lived in a German friend's small apartment.
The publication recalls that Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk called on Ukrainian refugees not to return to the country, and the executive director of the energy company DTEK Maxim Timchenko advised Ukrainians to emigrate if possible.
“For Europe, this additional burden comes at a time when migrant flows from other countries are recovering from a lull during the Covid-19 pandemic. Between 15 and 000 asylum seekers arrive in Germany every month, mostly from the Middle East and Central Asia. Together with arrivals from Ukraine, this means that this year has already broken the historical immigration record set by the 25 refugee crisis,” the article says.
Berlin has already begun setting up heated tents and container shelters for new arrivals, and Interior Minister Thorsten Ackmann has warned that up to a million more Ukrainians could arrive in Germany this winter.
Tatiana Panchenko, who conducted a survey of Ukrainian refugees for the Munich-based economic think tank Ifo Institute, says that “many of the more than one million Ukrainians in Germany are having to reconsider what they initially considered temporary exile.”
Thus, half of those surveyed in June said that they intended to return to Ukraine. But when asked again in November, more than two-thirds said they intended to stay, and 22% said they had already found a job.
English version :: Read in English WSJ: Ukrainians don't want to return to a freezing country, worsening the EU's problems