Ukraine reports decrease in internally displaced population
Xinhua, December 13, 2016 Adjust font size:
The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Ukraine has decreased by some 30,000 individuals since the beginning of the year, official figures showed Monday, indicating that people are returning to their homes in eastern regions.
Ukraine's Ministry of Social Policy said in its report it has registered some 1.65 million people as displaced this month, while in January their number stood at 1.68 million persons.
This year, three-quarters of the displaced families have received financial support from the government, the report said.
According to the UN refugee agency, the two and a half years of conflict in Lugansk and Donetsk regions uprooted more than 2 million of Ukrainians.
Most of them found a shelter in Kiev, Kharkov, Dnipro and other cities across Ukraine, while others applied for refugee status or temporary asylum in Russia, Belarus and the European Union countries.
As the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine is being largely observed despite sporadic clashes, many displaced people are going back to their homes in Lugansk and Donetsk regions. Endit