There are up to 16,000 IDPs in Drohobych community, 30% of them likely to stay permanently – mayor
Some 30% of displaced persons out of about 16,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) currently in Drohobych merged territorial community (Lviv region) may remain in it for permanent residence, Drohobych Mayor Taras Kuchma has said.
"Now there are up to 16,000 migrants in the community, of which, according to our estimates, 30% will still remain with us for permanent residence. Since they have nowhere to return. These are Mariupol, Luhansk, Donetsk, there are people from Kherson and Zaporizhia regions – there are about 6,000 to 7,000 of them," Kuchma said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
He also said since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, about 20,000 IDPs have been officially registered in Drohobych merged territorial community. But their real number, according to the mayor, may be three times greater, because "many came for two or three days, many simply did not want to register."
However, Kuchma said today the population of the Drohobych merged territorial community is 125,000 people.
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The interview with the mayor of Drohobych, Taras Kuchma, was prepared as part of a joint special project of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency and East Europe Foundation “Community Experience” (https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/919611.html), launched in support by the Stiykist’ Programme which is implemented by East Europe Foundation within a consortium of non-governmental organisations led by ERIM (Equal Rights and Independent Media, France) and funded by the European Union. Its purpose is to show the experience of Ukrainian communities in the adaptation and integration of forcibly displaced persons in order to increase the efficiency of the work of local self-government bodies. You can learn more about effective interaction with IDPs in the free online course "Adaptation and integration of IDPs: experience and opportunities" on the educational "Zrozumilo!" platform
The opinions and statements expressed in the material do not necessarily coincide with the views of the consortium partner organizations and the European Union.
