President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that some foreign leaders express a desire to keep Ukrainian refugees who are employed and pay taxes on their territory, while offering to return those who receive social assistance. Ukraine is interested in returning all citizens, regardless of their employment status.
Zelenskyy said this in an interview with the National Telethon.
"They themselves differentiated Ukrainians... They count their money, how much they spend annually on supporting Ukrainians abroad, but those Ukrainians who are unemployed - they say: you take them away," the President noted.
According to Zelenskyy, foreign leaders avoid public statements about this position. The President emphasized the intention to return all citizens, not just the unemployed, adding that for this Ukraine needs "a little more air defense".
The head of state predicts a mass return of Ukrainians after the end of the active phase of the war, which will be facilitated by the large-scale reconstruction of the country through business investments, unfrozen russian assets, and a reduction in military spending.
According to UNHCR, as of December 16, 2023, there were 6.254 million Ukrainian refugees in Europe, and 6.814 million in the world in general. According to Eurostat, as of October 2024, Germany (1.14 million) accepted the largest number of Ukrainians under temporary protection, followed by Poland (983,880) and the Czech Republic (379,370).
Earlier, the El Pais newspaper reported that in order to return refugees, Ukraine wants EU countries to stop providing them with financial assistance.
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