More young people leaving occupied territories for Ukraine, expert says

An increasing number of young people from the temporarily occupied territories, who were children when the occupation began, are now choosing to relocate to areas under Ukrainian control, particularly to pursue higher education.

Kateryna Rashevska, a Doctor of Philosophy in International Law and an expert at the Regional Center for Human Rights, highlighted this trend during a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine.

“I want to emphasize a positive trend: more and more young Ukrainians who were children at the time of the occupation are deciding to leave the occupied areas, even if they have spent as many as 11 years there. This is not limited to the newly occupied territories. They are choosing to enroll in Ukrainian higher education institutions,” Rashevska stated.

According to Rashevska, over 11,000 children from the temporarily occupied territories enrolled in Ukrainian universities in 2024. She pointed out that this marks a substantial rise compared to 2023 when just over 3,000 students from those areas pursued higher education in Ukraine.

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