Almost third of Ukrainians abroad do not return home due to lack of financial support and work, - survey
Almost a third of Ukrainians who left the country after Russia's full-scale invasion are still unable to return home due to a lack of work and financial support.
According to Censor.NET, this is evidenced by a survey conducted by the NGO United For Ukraine (UFU).
In particular, 18.4% of respondents asked about financial support, and 16% were interested in employment issues.
Ukrainians who are considering returning home are also worried about:
- pre-return action plan (17.2%)
- humanitarian aid in Ukraine (13.6%)
- educational opportunities, skills development (11.8%)
- psychological support (8.4%)
- temporary housing in Ukraine (7.8%)
- legal aid and human rights protection (6.3%).
The UFU team processed over 800 individual requests from Ukrainians as part of the Homecoming project, which aims to support displaced persons in making grounded decisions about returning to Ukraine.
The project's informational materials, useful for the return process, reached up to 500,000 people on social media.
The Ukrainian diaspora is one of the largest in the world: as of 2022, it numbered about 20 million people and has grown significantly in recent years. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in September 2025, 5.7 million Ukrainian refugees were outside the country due to the full-scale invasion.
The UFU emphasises that the return and active involvement of the global Ukrainian community in the life of the country is key to Ukraine's recovery and economic growth.
"For many Ukrainians, returning home is not only an emotional gesture, but also a strategic decision that requires answers to dozens of practical questions. People need information, infrastructure, and support to act consciously and feel part of the country's reconstruction. Since our inception, we have focused on supporting people fleeing the war. But we began to receive requests from people who wanted to return to Ukraine and needed comprehensive support, whether informational or legal. So, since 2024, we have been systematically supporting Ukrainians on their way home," says Olha Hamama, co-founder of United For Ukraine.
Assistance within the Homecoming project is provided free of charge. This primarily involves providing information support to Ukrainians who are planning to return to Ukraine. The organisation's website and social media pages provide up-to-date and verified information, ranging from a pre-return algorithm to information about housing, financial support, employment opportunities, education, legal, psychological and humanitarian assistance, etc. If a person has additional questions, they can submit a request, and the project managers will provide individual assistance.
Homecoming combines online resources with personalised support, making it unique among initiatives for Ukrainians abroad.
In addition to working on this project, since its inception in 2022, UFU has helped more than 13,000 displaced persons abroad who fled the war find temporary homes through a partnership with Airbnb.org. And more than 8,500 people have received personalised legal advice thanks to the combined resources of over 500 lawyers from 28 countries.
