Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Irina Vereshchuk told what kind of assistance people in the de-occupied territories can now count on, about current payments for internally displaced persons and whether Ukrainians who are now abroad need to return home.
She told about it on air to Snidank with 1+1.
Which of the Ukrainians should be evacuated
Despite the de-occupation of territories in different regions of Ukraine, including the settlements of the Kharkiv region, Vereshchuk recommends that Ukrainians evacuate, since it is impossible to restore certain critical infrastructure in these cities until spring.
“I always advise you to evacuate… Almost 15,000 women and children have already been evacuated in the de-occupied territories of the Kharkiv region. This is due to the fact that we will not be able to resume gas supply in apartment buildings in winter. In the spring – there will be a different conversation. However, if people stay, then you need to take advantage of all the opportunities provided by the state and international programs. Now there are seven of them and they work. One of them is financial assistance,” Vereshchuk commented.
She also appealed to all Ukrainians who remain in the occupied territories with a request, if possible, to evacuate in order not to be. human shield and enable our defenders to de-occupy cities with a minimum of civilian casualties. And she added: “We protect our people. And people don’t hear, they don’t listen, they don’t see, and then the result is that we now have 60,000 calls to the hotline asking us to “take us out, we can’t leave, the evacuation has been stopped, there are no corridors, we are being mobilized and passportized.” Therefore, listen to what the authorities say, listen to what the President says in his addresses.”
About the possibility of installing modular towns by winter in the de-occupied cities, the official commented that this is impossible: “Let’s be frank: there is no chance to install them. We need to save people now, and this can only be done by evacuating or providing all the necessary assistance.”
Financial assistance to residents of de-occupied territories
Each inhabitant of Izyum who survived the occupation will receive a lump sum payment of 1200 UAH. The International Organization for Migration also provides a one-time assistance of 2,200 hryvnias. The state provides the de-occupied territories with medicines, warm clothes and continues to look for the possibility of providing people with cash assistance. Vereshchuk noted that social payments and pensions, which Ukrainians did not receive for 7 months due to the occupation, have already been resumed.
In addition, the state allocated 562 million hryvnias to the program of the Ministry of Reintegration for free firewood for the de-occupied territories, as well as those cities where, due to shelling, people will not be able to prepare firewood for the winter.
“City communities are preparing such lists, and firewood will be brought to people. As early as Saturday, we will adopt a resolution distributing these funds among the OVAs. Firewood will be purchased locally and transported,” Vereshchuk explained.
Mobilization in the temporarily occupied territories
The Minister spoke about the mobilization of Ukrainian men in the temporarily occupied territories. According to Vereshchuk, Russia feels impunity and believes that nothing will happen to it for the forced passportization of people, but this is not so.
“Those who forcibly pass passports will be held accountable. We have drafted a bill, voted already in the Cabinet of Ministers, we ask the deputies to vote for their part as soon as possible. Those who humiliated people in their rights and created conditions for forced passportization will be held accountable,” the official stressed.
Vereshchuk also called on all Ukrainians to contact the hotline 15-48 or social networks to get help.
Should refugees from Europe return to Ukraine?
The official stressed that at present there are officially 4.7 million internally displaced persons in Ukraine, but unofficially this figure reaches 7 million people. There are also a large number of people who have gone abroad. As to whether they need to return home, Vereshchuk gave an unequivocal answer.
“I advise not to return, we need to survive the winter. It will be difficult, as you can see, the enemy is shifting the front, militaristically, he cannot do anything to us, we counterattack, fire. The enemy does not like this, and he shifts the focus to the humanitarian front … They will do everything to destroy critical infrastructure so that we freeze in winter. And the less the load on the networks, the consumption of electricity, gas and everything else, the faster we can save and win,” the minister said.
Recall that HB regularly shares tips on how to prepare for the cold and how to keep warm at home, not only thanks to heating. Recently, we talked about five ways to keep your apartment warm, how to insulate your house to lower your utility bills this winter, and what fabric to buy bed linen to keep warm before turning on the heat.