Chapter 5: Consequences of War-Induced Displacement and the Shifting Cartography of Belonging of Ukraine’s Ahiska (Meskhetian) Turks, Crimean Tatars, and Roma since 2014

Abstract This article focuses on consequences of Russian aggression and war-induced displacement on minority groups that are often overlooked by both Ukrainian minority studies within Ukraine as well as by international migration research: the Ahiska (Meskhetian) Turks, Crimean Tatars, and Roma. Due to their location in the south and east of the country, all three were strongly affected by Russian aggression in 2014, and especially after the full-scale invasion which began on 24 February 2022. Most research on displaced Ukrainian nationals focuses on the West-East (European Union (EU)-Russia) nexus and ignores the South. This article compares the experience of displacement of the three groups, in relation to 1) migration to Türkiye (for Ahiska Turks and Crimean Tatars) and 2) resettlement to other countries and internal displacement (for the Roma). It focuses on the (trans)national experience of displacement for minorities, as well as how this displacement and the response of receiving countries affects their sense of belonging. The study is based on a mixed-method approach combining desk research and qualitative in-depth interviews conducted with representatives of each community between 2014 and 2023, both in Ukraine and in their destination countries.