E Ukraine Facing Brain Drain as Conflict Makes Professionals Flee: Reports

The ongoing conflict and Kiev's decision to transfer professors and students from Donetsk puts eastern Ukraine on the risk of losing its intellectual potential.

MOSCOW, November 25 (Sputnik) —Conflict-ridden eastern Ukraine is facing a severe brain drain as young professionals and innovative companies continue to leave the region, Al Jazeera said Tuesday.

Those leaving include a significant number of IT companies, that were the region's main hope to transform the area into a postindustrialized economy, according to the report.

"For intelligent businesses, there is nothing left in Donetsk now," said Vladimir Voronov, the founder of an international branding agency that bears his name, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

The report stresses that the current brain drain represents "a generational split," as many younger creative professionals are fleeing while older generations are choosing to stay.

Another move that has further aggravated situation was the decision by the Ukrainian government to transfer professors and students from Donetsk National University to the state university in Vinnytsia – a city in central Ukraine, some 500 miles to the west of Donetsk. Some 70 percent of professors and 60 percent of students agreed to the move as the classes began earlier in November, said the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science.

According to the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) authorities even though some people were forced to leave the region due to fighting, DPR is still far from a labor force deficit.

"For every position that was left open, there are new people who are ready to replace them," said the DPR's minister of education and science, Igor Kostenok, as quoted by Al Jazeera, "Donetsk is now refreshing and rejuvenating itself this way."

In April, Kiev forces started a military operation against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine. On September 5, the conflicting sides reached a ceasefire agreement at a Contact Group meeting in Minsk. However, both sides have been accusing each other of violating the truce since the ceasefire agreement came into force.

The conflict has claimed the lives of over 4,000 people, while more than 460,000 people have been displaced since the military operation started, according to UN.