Since 2014, the issue of internal displacement in Ukraine has become not only a humanitarian challenge but also a permanent component of state policy. In 2022, this issue has only intensified with the full-scale war. Over more than ten years, important initiatives aimed at improving the situation of internally displaced persons (hereinafter referred to as IDPs) have been implemented: recognition of IDPs’ electoral rights (Law No. 703), the possibility of registering a place of residence, educational benefits for young people from temporarily occupied territories, the formation of a separate specialized ministry, the launch of a state strategy on IDPs, as well as attempts to digitize access to pensions, services, and certificates, etc. At the same time, there is still no systematic and coordinated work by state bodies on internal displacement and temporarily occupied territories. The policy on IDPs in Ukraine today looks like a set of isolated initiatives that are often not implemented or are not coordinated with each other. In practice, the body responsible for coordination is not active enough, and there are no basic mechanisms for accountability, information exchange, or performance evaluation. As a result, communities are faced with fragmented decisions, compensating for a lack of experience with intuition, and state strategies lack enforcement power.
In 2025, against the backdrop of reduced international aid, the relaunch of ministerial powers, and the completion of the current Strategy (2023–2025), it will be critically important to form a common position among the public sector and local experts: what exactly needs to be changed in the policy on IDPs so that it truly responds to systemic challenges. This document is based on two expert focus groups—with national and local public figures—and summarizes the key challenges and advocacy areas that, according to the participants, should be at the center of the political agenda on IDPs.
The document is based on two expert focus groups conducted by the International Renaissance Foundation in May 2025 with national and local public figures and summarizes the key challenges and advocacy areas that, according to the participants, should be at the center of the political agenda.22
