Ministry of National Unity says living under occupation is a personal choice of Ukrainian citizens

Director General of the Directorate for National Unity and Strategic Communications of the Ministry of National Unity Yuliia Lysenko. Screenshot from the video

Director General of the Directorate for National Unity and Strategic Communications of the Ministry of National and Territorial Unity Yuliia Lysenko said that choosing to live under occupation is an independent decision of Ukrainian citizens.

She said this during a panel discussion at the Ukrainian Catholic University conference «AntIDote: Unity».

During the discussion, journalist Sofiia Cheliak drew attention to the change in powers after the liquidation of the Ministry of Reintegration, which dealt with the temporarily occupied territories (TOT). In particular, she noted that the Ministry of National Unity was left with only strategic communications and interaction with the diaspora. She also explained that there is no communication with citizens who remained in the TOT through the ministry's official channels.

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The journalist asked whether the ministry plans to regain the authority to communicate with residents of the occupied territories and whether strategic communications with citizens under occupation will include them.

Yulia Lysenko noted that in no case should it be emphasised that Ukraine is leaving its citizens in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) and that they are no longer Ukrainians.

«Wherever a Ukrainian is, the narrative that should be there is a story and a plot. Citizens in the TOT and abroad also have their own story. They remain Ukrainians. It is important not to divide Ukrainians and not to say that we are abandoning someone if it is a temporarily occupied territory. They are still our Ukrainians. I would like to emphasise that there should be no separation even in the phrases «we» and «you», for example, our citizens and the state», said Yuliia Lysenko.

Sofiia Cheliak said that she was working on a story about education in the TOT of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and investigated how the occupation authorities affect the educational process. She noted that during an interview with two girls who left the occupied territories in 2023 after coming of age, they said that no one had communicated with them since 2022, and they were looking for ways to evacuate to the government-controlled territory on their own.

«You know, first of all, you need to be aware and willing to leave. Because sometimes our people are looking for excuses why they stay there (in occupation, — note), why they stay in Ukraine or go abroad. We need to answer ourselves honestly: yes, we have a desire to be where we want to be, to be who we want to be. It's a pity that we started building our nation at such a price. But at the same time, we are reviving the Ukrainian language, we are reviving ourselves. Wherever there is a Ukrainian, we see the Ukrainian word. This is our world», said Yuliia Lysenko.

In a commentary to «ZMINA», Advocacy Director of the ZMINA Human Rights Centre Alona Luniova noted that such statements could have arisen due to the lack of knowledge of the representative of the Ministry of National Unity about the situation in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT).

The human rights activist stressed that people who remain under occupation do not actually have a free choice to leave or stay. This is confirmed by reports from human rights organisations.

«Leaving the occupation is associated with the dangers of Russia's filtration procedures and requires documents and significant funds. For example, the departure of a family can cost several thousand euros, which many people do not have. If a person works for the TOT to survive and raise money to leave, they may be prosecuted on suspicion of collaboration», explained Alona Luniova.

As a reminder, every child who returns from the temporarily occupied territories after forced displacement or deportation will receive a one-time state aid of 50,000 hryvnias.