Only 14% of Ukrainian Refugees in Europe Hope to Return Soon - UN

GENEVA (Sputnik) - Only a fraction of Ukrainian refugees in Europe plan to go home in the near future, surveys conducted by the UN refugee agency UNHCR have found.

"The majority, of course, hope to return one day to Ukraine but just 14% of them plan to do so in the near future. That's because of the security concerns along with the access to the basic services, housing and livelihoods," UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh told a news briefing of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva on Tuesday.

Europe is hosting some 5.9 million Ukrainians displaced by the nearly two-year conflict, 62% of them women and girls and 36% children. Another 2 million have fled to Russia.

"The majority of refugees plan to remain where they are but they will require continued support from the host governments and the international community to meet their basic needs and to access key services and build their self-reliance," Saltmarsh added.

Ukrainian refugees need classes in local languages, formal recognition of their skills, and easier access to the job market, the UNHCR spokesperson explained.

UNHCR also found that between 40-60% of working-age refugees from Ukraine are unemployed and only half of school-age Ukrainian children were enrolled in schools in their host countries at the start of 2023-2024 school year.