The OECD has worked with Ukraine since Ukraine’s independence three decades ago to support its reform agenda, and this partnership has strengthened considerably since 2014. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and despite the daily pressures of wartime conditions, the OECD has continued to expand and intensify its co‑operation with the country.
It is within this context that the OECD Return and Reintegration Policy Review of Ukraine has been conducted under the OECD-Ukraine Country Programme, a four‑year partnership launched in June 2023 to assist Ukraine in advancing reforms and preparing for recovery. The country programme is financed by OECD donors, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as the European Union. The country programme enables Ukraine to draw on OECD expertise and international good practices to strengthen institutions, enhance economic resilience, and ensure that reconstruction and reform efforts contribute to Ukraine’s long-term well-being.
This report is structured around four thematic chapters. Chapter 2 provides an overview of Ukraine’s migration and displacement trends before and after 2022, examining the evolution of Ukrainian communities abroad, displaced populations within Ukraine, and patterns of return. Chapter 3 reviews the legal, political and social architecture for internal displacement, return, reintegration and engagement with the Ukrainian global community. It outlines the measures adopted by the state and non-state actors to address the challenges posed by Russia’s war of aggression and highlights international co‑operation to support these efforts. Chapter 4 explores the factors shaping displaced persons’ intentions to return and the conditions under which these intentions translate into actual return, using both existing survey data and new analytical simulations. Special attention is given to the role of housing, employment and access to public services as decisive factors for reintegration. Chapter 5 draws lessons from international experience, analysing how other countries have addressed return, reintegration and diaspora engagement following conflict, disaster or large‑scale emigration, and identifying relevant practices for Ukraine.
The review forms part of the OECD’s wider commitment to supporting Ukraine’s recovery, reconstruction and institutional reform. By offering an evidence‑based assessment and internationally grounded policy insights, this review aims to assist the Government of Ukraine and its partners in building a coherent, inclusive and forward-looking framework for the return and reintegration of displaced persons, and in harnessing the potential of Ukrainians abroad as vital contributors to the country’s recovery and reconstruction.