The Impact of the Current Military Conflict on Migration and Mobility in Ukraine

Abstract

In seeking to investigate the recent changes in migration matters in Ukraine since EuroMaidan, annexation of Crimea and hostilities in Donbass, this paper explores the situation on the ground using the available data (including official statistics, figures of the international organizations, media reports and public surveys) as well as expert voices from different disciplines. It covers the period from winter 2013/14, when the first individual circular movements started, to autumn 2014, marked with intense mass displacement which has been rapidly growing since then. It is indicated that the observed conflict was triggered out by externally orchestrated factors and agents and would not have been caused by internal economic, political or cultural contradictions alone. Given the unprecedented challenge that Ukraine, being in the middle of the conflict, is currently facing, it also addresses the potential for a policy and the institutional framework to deal with migration since the crisis.

Keywords: Migration, mobility, military conflict, displacement, IDPs