Up to 80% of Ukrainians who stay in Belarus do not plan to return home

The figure was voiced by the Secretary General of the Belarusian Red Cross Society, Dmitry Shevtsov, in his talk with the First Channel of the Belarusian Radio

According to Mr. Shevtsov, work with migrants is among the priorities of the Red Cross, “The topic of the migration crisis is now high on the world agenda, and the media pays much attention to it. Work [with refugees] is difficult and stressful, but we are ready for it. After the January refugee crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border, we summed up the results and worked out the weaknesses. Meetings were held with partners, state organisations and ministries in order to properly interact if such a problem recurs. We have worked on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border taking our previous experience into consideration.”

The Secretary General of the Belarusian Red Cross Society also commented on the differences between the January refugee crisis on the border with Poland and the current situation with Ukrainians who are forced to leave their homeland.

“These migration crises are completely different. Belarus and Poland [last winter] were considered by migrants from the Middle East as transit countries, and Germany was their ultimate goal. Speaking of the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, Belarus was no longer perceived as a transit country. There were isolated cases when people transited to the Russian Federation or European countries via our territory. Basically, our republic is considered as the final destination and the country of salvation and tranquillity,” Mr. Shevtsov explained.

He also announced the results of a recent survey, “About 80% of Ukrainians who are currently in Belarus do not plan to return home. They want to stay and live with their families on the territory of Belarus.”