More than a year after the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, new socio-psychological trends began to appear among Ukrainian refugees in Norway. According to the results of recent polls, almost 47% of Ukrainian refugees say that they do not want to return to Ukraine even after the end of hostilities. This indicator shows not only the severity of the experience, but also profound changes in the life plans of people who were forced to seek refuge in other countries.
As writes , this is evidenced by the results of a survey by the Office for Integration and Diversity (IMDi). It is noted that only 10% of refugees want to return home.
Researcher Vilde Hernes from the Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR) at OsloMet says that there are two trends among Ukrainians. First, those who have been in Norway for a long time want to stay in this Scandinavian country more. Secondly, there is a category of refugees who have recently arrived, but from the very beginning want to settle in Norway.
According to Gernes, the number of boys aged 16-17 has increased among the visitors. In her opinion, this is due to the fact that from the age of 18, young men no longer have the opportunity to leave Ukraine and are threatened with possible mobilization into the army.
In a similar survey in January 2023, every third Ukrainian refugee said they wanted to stay in Norway. At the same time, more than half hesitated.
The number of Ukrainians who will return from abroad after the end of the war will depend on the scenario in which it ends. This opinion was expressed by a senior researcher at the Institute of Demography and Social Research named after M.V. Ptukhy, candidate of economic sciences Oleksiy Pozniak.
According to El Pais, six to ten million Ukrainians have been abroad since the start of the full-scale war. They still live there, but Ukraine is in favor of returning citizens "home" - in particular, with the help of such methods as ending aid to refugees and closing access to consular services for men of mobilization age.
