Navigating Return
Navigating Return
Understanding the challenges and the well-being of Ukrainians coming home amid conflict.
What is the situation of returnees in Ukraine?
In this mixed-method study, we examined the experiences and outcomes of displaced Ukrainians returning to their home country amid the ongoing conflict.
Much research has focused on return after conflict, yet the experiences, wellbeing, and aspirations of people who go back amid ongoing violence remain poorly understood. Our study brings this overlooked phenomenon into focus.
Conference
The Future of Return: Towards Long-Term Solutions for Ukrainians Abroad and in Ukraine
4 December 2025
10:00-16:00
English
The Hague Humanity Hub, The Hague
Hybrid (in-person and online participation available)
The upcoming conference will address migration governance and mobility among displaced Ukrainians. Drawing on rigorous data collection, OPORA’s study will provide a comprehensive overview of the experiences of those who have returned. The event will bring together policymakers, researchers, and practitioners from the Netherlands, Ukraine, and beyond to discuss findings and examine evidence-based approaches to migration governance in the situation of active war.
Project Objectives
Psychological well-being
Reintegration barriers
Public and political discourse
Policy recommendations
Using validated well-being surveys examine the mental and emotional health of returnees, focusing on trauma, resilience, and coping mechanisms during reintegration.
Identify social, economic, and institutional challenges faced by returnees, including access to housing, employment, healthcare, education, and experiences of discrimination.
Analyze how return migration is framed in media and political narratives, and how these narratives influence public perception and policy decisions.
Produce practical, research-driven recommendations to strengthen support systems across national and EU levels.
Project Objectives
Psychological well-being
Reintegration barriers
Public and political discourse
Policy recommendations
Using validated well-being surveys examine the mental and emotional health of returnees, focusing on trauma, resilience, and coping mechanisms during reintegration.
Identify social, economic, and institutional challenges faced by returnees, including access to housing, employment, healthcare, education, and experiences of discrimination.
Analyze how return migration is framed in media and political narratives, and how these narratives influence public perception and policy decisions.
Produce practical, research-driven recommendations to strengthen support systems across national and EU levels.
Why does this matter?
Unlike previous return contexts, Ukraine’s case is unprecedented:
Return is happening amid active war, not after it.
Return is not the end destination for migrants - it is all about mobility.
Prolonged temporality and the loss of identity.
Key research components:
Mental Well-Being and Return
Barriers to reintegration.
Mental Well-Being and Return
Barriers to reintegration.
Social Cohesion & Political Discourse
Insights into how return is represented in media, politics, and public conversation — and what aspects remain overlooked.
Social Cohesion & Political Discourse
Insights into how return is represented in media, politics, and public conversation — and what aspects remain overlooked.
Recommendations
For national and EU policymakers, civil society, and international donors.
Recommendations
For national and EU policymakers, civil society, and international donors.
Partners
Navigating Return
Understanding the challenges and the well-being of Ukrainians coming home amid conflict.
What is the situation of returnees in Ukraine?
In this mixed-method study, we examined the experiences and outcomes of displaced Ukrainians returning to their home country amid the ongoing conflict.
Much research has focused on return after conflict, yet the experiences, wellbeing, and aspirations of people who go back amid ongoing violence remain poorly understood. Our study brings this overlooked phenomenon into focus.
Conference
The Future of Return: Towards Long-Term Solutions for Ukrainians Abroad and in Ukraine
4 December 2025
10:00-16:00
English
The Hague Humanity Hub, The Hague
Hybrid (in-person and online participation available)
The upcoming conference will address migration governance and mobility among displaced Ukrainians. Drawing on rigorous data collection, OPORA’s study will provide a comprehensive overview of the experiences of those who have returned. The event will bring together policymakers, researchers, and practitioners from the Netherlands, Ukraine, and beyond to discuss findings and examine evidence-based approaches to migration governance in the situation of active war.
Project Objectives
Psychological well-being
Reintegration barriers
Public and political discourse
Policy recommendations
Using validated well-being surveys examine the mental and emotional health of returnees, focusing on trauma, resilience, and coping mechanisms during reintegration.
Identify social, economic, and institutional challenges faced by returnees, including access to housing, employment, healthcare, education, and experiences of discrimination.
Analyze how return migration is framed in media and political narratives, and how these narratives influence public perception and policy decisions.
Produce practical, research-driven recommendations to strengthen support systems across national and EU levels.
Why does this matter?
Unlike previous return contexts, Ukraine’s case is unprecedented:
Return is happening amid active war, not after it.
Return is not the end destination for migrants - it is all about mobility.
Prolonged temporality and the loss of identity.
Key research components:
Mental Well-Being and Return
Barriers to reintegration.
Social Cohesion & Political Discourse
Insights into how return is represented in media, politics, and public conversation — and what aspects remain overlooked.
Recommendations
For national and EU policymakers, civil society, and international donors.
Partners