Ukraine risks losing key rebuilding capital without refugee return plan — MP Kniazhytskyi

Ukrainian MP Mykola Kniazhytskyi stated this in his YouTube blog.

He notes that in Poland, during the first years of the war, Ukrainians generated about 1% of additional GDP, but mostly worked in low-paying jobs. However, last year, according to an official UNHCR and Deloitte report, our citizens provided Poland with about 3% of additional GDP. This is a colossal figure that covers more than half the costs of re-equipping the Polish army.

The deputy explains that such rapid growth in Ukrainians' contribution to the Polish economy is justified by people's adaptation and unwillingness to take just any job, and consequently their desire to start their own businesses.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainians have opened 90,000 businesses in Poland. Of these, 78,000 are small private firms, mainly in the service sector: construction, cosmetology, tailoring shops and hair salons. At the same time, more than 11,000 are already large companies.

According to Mykola Kniazhytskyi, Ukrainians are valued - and not only in Poland. Our people know how to work with dedication, so they quickly gain a good reputation. This also shows that Ukrainians themselves are the main capital for rebuilding the country.

"Of course, I'm far from thinking that all refugees will return home. But even now, in the fourth year of the war, according to Ukraine's Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bondar, only about 20% of Ukrainians have firmly decided to remain in this country. Other data covering all of Europe shows: one-third of Ukrainians definitely will not return after the war, the same number will definitely return. And the rest? This is already a question for the authorities. If the authorities don't come to their senses, don't start thinking about how to bring back those who can still be brought back, and don't retain those who still remain in the state, even billions of dollars in investment won't create an economic miracle in Ukraine," emphasizes the lawmaker.

He recalls the story of the so-called Ministry of Unity, which the authorities first created and then liquidated themselves, confirming that there is no plan for people's return.

"The new government has not yet said a word about how it intends to solve the issue without which Ukraine's future is simply impossible," concludes Mykola Kniazhytskyi and calls for work on the demographic problem in our state. The deputy's proposals are outlined in the draft law "On the Fundamentals of State Policy in the Field of Demography," but it is not being adopted and no alternative solutions have been proposed so far.