MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/. Ukraine lacks money to ensure the return of those who fled the country, a senior Ukrainian lawmaker said.

"Even bearing in mind the importance of this issue, we cannot talk about any benefits for the returning refugees," Daniil Getmantsev, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) financial committee, told the Delo media outlet. "First, we have no funds for that, let us be frank." Apart from that, in his words, any promised advantages for those returning from abroad may irritate those who remained in the country.

According to Ukraine’s Institute of the Future, the country’s population shrank from 48.5 million in 2001 to 29 million in 2023, with the population pyramid turning upside down due to the population aging, birth dearth, and mass migration. Now, the country has 9.5 million employed and around 20 million retirees, children, and jobless. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), nearly ten million people have fled Ukraine since February 2022.