29 Jul 2022 15:19

Over 6.6 mln people remain internally displaced in Ukraine - IOM

MOSCOW. July 29 (Interfax) - There are currently more than 6.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine, Communications Officer at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Ukraine Varvara Zhluktenko said.

"According to data of the latest nationwide representative survey conducted by the IOM between July 12 and July 23, currently in Ukraine there are more than 6.6 million internally displaced persons. It accounts for 15% of the overall population of Ukraine, and this figure has slightly grown as compared to the end of June, when our organization counted around 6.3 million internally displaced persons," the Ukrainian media quoted Zhluktenko as saying during a press briefing at the Ukraine Media Center in Kyiv on Friday.

People are continuing to leave Ukraine's eastern, southern and northern regions, she said.

"Meanwhile, 5.5 million internally displaced persons have come back home. The absolute majority of them were internally displaced, and 16% of them have returned from abroad. The major regions where people are returning to are Kyiv, the Kyiv region, as well as the Kharkiv, Odesa and Chernihiv regions," Zhluktenko said.