State policy to support internally displaced persons

The full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by the russian federation has brought to the forefront the urgent issue of effectively utilizing the countryʼs labor resources amid a sharp increase in the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs), many of whom are women with children fleeing the horrors of war. This situation necessitates the development and implementation of a well-balanced state policy regarding IDPs. An additional factor contri­buting to the urgency of this issue is the prolonged hostilities and the complete destruct­tion of a significant number of settle­ments in the combat zones, which has effectively ruled out the possibility of many IDPs returning to their homes as they existed before 2022. Two hypotheses are tested: first, that a significant number of IDPs are satisfied with state pay­ments, refusing to look for a job or retraining in anticipation of the end of active hostilities in order to return to their places of permanent residence or as close to them as possible; second, that there is a relationship between the employment of IDPs on a permanent basis and the distance of forced migration. The research employed methods of scientific abstraction, analysis, synthesis, comparative analysis, and systematization. It has been established that as a result of russiaʼs full-scale military aggression against Ukraine, a significant portion of IDPs were not only forced to seek refuge in new places of residence but also had to accept the reality of not being able to return to their native homes, instead having to rebuild their lives from that point onward. Findings indicate that, due to the implementation of state policy toward IDPs, only a relatively small proportion opted to return to territories temporarily occupied by Russia. The majority of displaced persons found employment in their new locations; however, a significant number were forced to accept low-paying jobs. It was determined that government assistance was generally sufficient to cover housing rental costs. At the same time, the spread of various forms of abuse related to the receipt of state aid by IDPs led to a gradual narrowing of the pool of individuals eligible for such payments. It was also found that the employment of internally displaced persons largely depends on the efforts of local authorities aimed at creating new jobs. Nonetheless, the widespread employment of IDPs in low-wage positions highlights the untapped potential to improve the effectiveness of their labor utilization by ensuring their skills, knowledge, and expertise are more fully and appropriately applied.