EU may change legal status of millions of Ukrainian refugees

Millions of Ukrainian refugees could lose legal status in EU after truce declared.

According to media reports, the Temporary Protection Directive, on the basis of which more than 4 million Ukrainian citizens were granted the right to live, work and use social services in the EU countries have no clear mechanism for its extension. Since there is no clear plan at the EU level, individual countries are already starting to decide on their own how to deal with Ukrainian refugees - whether to weaken support measures, encourage integration or push them to return home.

However, the Ukrainian government does not have high expectations for return of their citizens. It recons that only 30 percent of Ukrainian refugees will return home six months after the end of the war, while the same number will stay abroad forever. The remaining 40 percent of those who left will consider the possibility of returning, taking into account the economic processes in Ukraine.