"I returned to Mariupol at the beginning of this year. I couldn’t find myself here. My son helped me leave at the start of the full-scale war, rented modest housing for me, and supported me for a while, as much as he could. I signed up for several aid programs for the internally displaced persons and received a pension, but at some point, it became very hard. Prices went up, aid decreased, and the power outages and air raid alarms took a toll on my health. I spent a long time gathering information about how to return home to Mariupol and what awaited me there. My son didn’t support my decision, but many acquaintances in Mariupol told me that life there was returning to normal and people were gradually coming back", - said pensioner Maria K. to OstroV.
According to her, since she didn’t have a russian passport, she traveled by bus to Minsk and from there flew to moscow.
"At Sheremetyevo, we were taken to a separate queue and called one by one for an interview, which lasted about an hour. They confiscated my phone and laptop, asked for all my passwords, and meanwhile, another man was asking questions about the purpose of my visit, what I did in Ukraine, whether I had relatives in the armed forces, and my attitude toward russia, among other things. In the end, they allowed me entry, but I saw several women who were denied entry and had to book tickets back", - she recalled.
The pensioner openly admits that she returned because she has an intact housing in Mariupol, where she doesn’t need to pay rent and which gives her "a sense of home".
"Home is always better, no matter what it’s like. I understand everything, but I want to spend my old age where I was born. And I’ll tell you, I don’t regret coming back, think whatever you want. Do you think I’m the only one who has returned? No. Some come to sell their apartments and go back, while others stay to live here. And when you read Ukrainian news claiming that those who return home are traitors, it just makes you want to cry. First, the state does nothing, takes away the meager payments, doesn’t notice us, and then calls us traitors. This only strengthens my belief that I made the right choice. I’m sorry", - the woman said emotionally.
Indeed, at the beginning of November, MP Mariana Bezuhla called everyone who returns to occupied territories traitors. Later, a discussion swept through Ukrainian information space about whether Ukrainians are indeed moving en masse to the occupied territories.
Determining the number of people returning to live under occupation is quite a challenging task, if not impossible. The chief coordinator of NGO "Donbas SOS" Violetta Artemchuk, emphasized in a comment to OstroV that it is currently impossible to provide any reliable statistics on those who have returned to the temporarily occupied territories.
"These data cannot be verified. I cannot imagine how this could be calculated or an appropriate survey conducted", - she said.
Nevertheless, some figures have been mentioned, causing a significant stir.
Statistics that do not exist
On November 24, 2024, MP from "Servant of the People" party Maksym Tkachenko stated that 150,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were forced to return to temporarily occupied territories.
"For example, according to available data, 200,000 Mariupol residents left their city, fleeing the war that russia brought to our land. At the same time, every third person returned home to Mariupol, to occupation. By estimates, that's about 67,000–70,000 people. In my opinion, these are horrifying figures", - he said.
According to Tkachenko, the main reason for IDPs returning to occupied territories is that they could not start a new life in Ukraine-controlled areas. "They did not receive adequate help from the state—neither housing, nor social support, compensation, work, etc."
Additionally, the MP noted that many IDPs "could not find work due to employers' skepticism toward them, and the job offers available to IDPs are indeed very low-paying."
"We are losing our people because the state is slow to provide help, and because the volume of aid is insufficient", - he added.
The Office of the President promptly reacted to the statistics provided by the MP.
"You are lying when you talk about thousands of IDPs returning to the temporarily occupied territories", - wrote Deputy Head of the Presidential Office and former Minister for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, Iryna Vereshchuk, emphatically.
She called such data a "hostile narrative" and claimed that the MP's "informational activity" was subversive and criminal.
"I will never believe that thousands of Ukrainians are going to russian-occupied territories because of the lack of 2–3 thousand hryvnias per month in state aid. Yes, the state cannot gift every displaced person an apartment. But temporary housing exists. Yes, we cannot provide every displaced person with the same job at the same pay as before. Because we are at war. But for those willing to work, there is work", - she wrote.
Interestingly, this was not Maksym Tkachenko's first statement on the number of IDPs returning to occupied territories. Earlier that same year (when Vereshchuk was not yet working in the Office of the President), he claimed that "130,000 displaced persons were forced to return home to combat zones or even to temporarily occupied territories". At that time, this figure did not spark any reaction or outrage.
This time, however, the topic ignited a lively discussion in the information space, with debates about who is correct and what statistics are accurate. Eventually, Tkachenko was forced to publicly retract his statement.
"My words were inaccurate, so I want to retract them. Such data does not exist. It was my unfounded and emotional assumption", - he said at the end of November 2024.
But Maksym Tkachenko was not the only one to raise this issue. For instance, in October 2024, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that the number of IDPs in Ukraine was decreasing because, due to socio-economic difficulties in their new locations, they were returning to temporarily occupied territories and frontline cities.
Later, this information was supported by the head of the "Servant of the People" party, Olena Shuliak. According to her, the state failed in its policy of supporting IDPs, as it could not provide them with one of their key needs—housing. This forces them to return to frontline cities and temporarily occupied territories.
According to Petro Andriushchenko, former adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, around 300,000 internally displaced persons attempted to return to the occupied territories over the past year, but only about 100,000 succeeded. However, this does not mean that all those who returned home stayed there permanently.
One of the main reasons for returning to the temporarily occupied territory is the "housing issue". People want to sell their surviving property, which requires them to personally travel, obtain a russian passport, and re-register their housing under russian laws. After completing these steps, they return back.
Many people are in a hurry due to the so-called "law on unclaimed property", under which the occupiers can seize real estate from residents who have left the region and transfer it to "municipal ownership".
The fact that it is currently impossible to verify how many internally displaced persons have actually returned to temporarily occupied territory was confirmed in a comment to OstroV by Violetta Artemchuk, chief coordinator of the NGO "Donbas SOS".
"I notice that information is entering the public space that, in my opinion, is unverified and unclear where it originates from", - she said.
According to her, people do occasionally contact NGO "Donbas SOS" who might be planning to travel to temporarily occupied territories, but they speak about it in very veiled terms.
"No one will directly say they are planning to return. The social climate is not conducive to that. I cannot imagine where these figures came from. Were there studies conducted on who was leaving? I think it’s impossible to determine", - added Violetta Artemchuk.
Pavlo Lysianskyi, director of the Institute for Strategic Research and Security, also points out that the claims of mass returns by IDPs to occupied territories over the past year do not correspond to reality.
According to him, due to filtration procedures conducted by russia against Ukrainian citizens traveling to occupied territories, entry is denied to 80-90% of them.
Moreover, he notes that the overall population in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine continues to decrease. For example, in the city of Enerhodar, the population dropped by 65% between 2023 and 2024.
"And so, if Ukrainian citizens were massively returning to the occupied territories, demographic indicators would show an increase in the total population in these areas", - Pavlo Lysianskyi believes.
Moreover, as of late 2023, the occupiers have completely changed their attitude toward local residents in the occupied territories and are subjecting them to repression.
"The return of Ukrainian citizens to occupied territories is not part of the occupiers' plans. They do not want people there who have historical memory (i.e., those who can compare life under Ukrainian governance). Therefore, many russian citizens of various ethnicities are being brought to the occupied territories. Considering the above, even if internally displaced persons wanted to return to Ukraine's occupied territories, they simply wouldn’t be able to do so", - he wrote on Facebook.
To determine how many people are returning permanently to the occupied territories, at the very least, a comprehensive sociological survey is necessary. On the other hand, it cannot be ruled out that some people are returning with the intent to sell their property or relocate permanently. However, in any case, this requires either having a russian passport or undergoing rigorous filtration.
The challenging path to occupied territories
Since October 16, 2023, Ukrainian citizens (without russian passports) can only enter russia—and consequently the occupied territories—through Sheremetyevo Airport (moscow). Moreover, not everyone is permitted entry into russia; only those who have successfully passed filtration and received approval for entry from the FSB of russia are allowed.
It should be noted that this filtration includes not only document checks but also inspections of personal gadgets such as mobile phones, tablets, flash drives, and laptops. Refusal to comply with these measures results in denial of entry into russia and deportation to the country from which the passenger arrived.
"It's expensive and difficult. I am aware of the situation at Sheremetyevo: during the filtration process, they thoroughly search you and inspect your phone. If they find something suspicious, like a donation to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, they deny you entry to russia and bar you from entry for five years. I don’t know where they get their data. Without a russian passport—and I believe that most displaced persons who left immediately after the start of the full-scale war did not manage to obtain one—this is a challenging and costly path", - Violetta Artemchuk told OstroV.
In russia, it was reported that over the course of a year (from mid-October 2023 to mid-October 2024), 107,000 Ukrainian citizens attempted to enter through Sheremetyevo Airport. Of these, approximately 83,000 were allowed entry.
At the same time, judging by posts on social media, the number of refusals is significantly higher.
The FSB does not disclose the reasons for entry denial. Those denied entry are simply read the law stating why they are not allowed into russia. However, according to accounts from those present during the filtration process, the main reasons include: having family members in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, SBU, or Ukrainian government agencies; "likes" and comments on pro-Ukrainian posts; derogatory remarks about russia and its citizens in private messages, and so on.
Additionally, entry is denied to people who had previously been in russia after October 16, 2023, underwent filtration but did not obtain russian citizenship, and are now trying to enter again.
There are several communities on social media where people share stories and advice about passing filtration. Most posts discuss how russian authorities deny Ukrainian citizens entry to russia and impose multi-year bans.
"I lived my entire life in the LNR and russia until March 30, 2022. My girlfriend, two grandmothers, father, sister—in short, all my relatives are there. I have no one in Ukraine at all, even my friends are back home. Only my mom is with me—she brought me out when I was 17. Now they've imposed a 50-year entry ban into russia", - writes Mykhailo.
"I am a resident of the new territories. Everything I have is there, but they wouldn’t let me go home. I understand the security measures, but for people like me, could they not offer additional, more in-depth checks—even with a lie detector, which I’ve already agreed to—or something similar?", - Ivan notes.
"I took vacation and was traveling to visit my daughter. But I was denied entry and given a 20-year ban. This is madness <…>. If I had been let in there, both I and my grandchildren would have been happy. Now, they can only kiss and hug me over video. This is some kind of tragedy", - shares Iryna.
"Morning: December 1, 2024. Waiting for a flight back. Out of our group of 10 people, only 1 was allowed through. Unfortunately, there are no seats available on return flights, and this is our third flight we’re waiting for (there’s a capsule hotel here where you can sleep—1,000 rubles per hour for a bed with a shared shower, or 100 euros for a private room with a shower). We arrived at Sheremetyevo on November 30 at 13:10, and until 21:00 we were stalled and then denied entry, now waiting for flights", - notes Alisa N.
But there are examples of successfully passing filtration.
"Hello everyone, I want to share my experience. Yesterday, November 29, I successfully passed filtration. In the summer, I was denied entry in Belarus because of 'likes' on Instagram. Yesterday, during the interview, this was immediately the first topic for discussion. The agent clearly wanted to make a quick decision since this is a significant factor for them. They also found a couple of 'likes' and 'unclear' chats in my phone. I wasn’t afraid to admit and talk about my opinions at the start of all events, the influences I experienced, etc. I explained in detail my current stance and acknowledged the mistakes and foolishness of the past. The agent said the chances of passing were small but not zero. In the end, I was allowed through", - shares Daniil S.
Besides the fact that traveling to the occupied territories without a russian passport resembles a lottery, it also requires a considerable amount of money.
On social media, you can find dozens of advertisements offering routes from Ukraine-controlled areas or EU countries to occupied territories. Some transporters specify that they work only with people who have russian passports. However, there are those who offer routes involving filtration.
For example, a bus route from Warsaw to Nova Kakhovka costs $300–400. The itinerary looks like this: the bus goes to Minsk, from there you need to fly to moscow (airfare purchased separately), and if you successfully pass filtration, you’ll be taken to the occupied territory.
"Expensive, lengthy, and risky. But little by little, people are traveling. From what I’ve observed, it’s mostly elderly women. I don’t know the numbers, but such people exist", - says Maria, a pensioner who returned to live in occupied Mariupol.
By Vladyslav Bulatchik, OstroV