Denys Shmyhal/Photo: Government press service
The government plans to establish a Ministry of Return of Ukrainians. It aims to prioritize the return of Ukrainians currently living abroad. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during a press conference on Tuesday, September 10.
According to Shmyhal, the current strategy for the return of Ukrainians is spread across several ministries. The government aims to make this work a priority by forming a dedicated team that will focus on this issue daily. Shmyhal emphasized that the idea behind the creation of the Ministry of Return of Ukrainians is to pay special attention to the 7.5 million Ukrainians currently living abroad.
«We often talk about our strategy for bringing Ukrainians back, but this strategy is fragmented across the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Reintegration, the Ministry of Social Policy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs», — the Prime Minister said.
Each ministry handles a small part of the task, and it isn’t prioritized. The goal is to make this a genuine priority. Shmyhal stressed the importance of motivating Ukrainians to return. Even though not all may choose to return, they remain an integral part of the nation. In particular, they support Ukraine through contributions, donations, and even protests.
«This process needs to be organized and coordinated. That’s the idea behind the ministry. As for how we’ll achieve this, we are currently working on implementing these ideas», — Shmyhal explained.
It’s worth noting that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy first mentioned the idea of the Ministry of Return of Ukrainians in August, referring to it as the «Ministry of Unity.» According to Zelenskyy, the primary goal of this agency is to unite Ukrainians abroad and counter the influence of Russian propaganda.