Returned from the United States, where she obtained citizenship, to be useful here
Marichka Bakuma returned to Ukraine after living in America for almost 10 years. After the full-scale invasion, she could not find a place for herself in the country where she had lived for so long, built a life and obtained citizenship. When she renewed her passport at the age of 23, she made the final decision to return home. In the United States, Marichka worked in a law office that fought for workers' rights. In Ukraine, she had neither a job nor a place to live.
"I didn't know what I was going to do and how I would be useful. I followed the call of my heart and left. I don't regret a single day. I am not drawn back to the US, even though I have American citizenship, but I have no desire to go there. And as long as Trump is president, I definitely won't do it," says Marichka Bakuma.
After 10 years of living in America, she was surprised by many things in Ukraine, especially digitalisation, Diia and entering the subway with a QR code.
"I left when the metro still used tokens. I had a full body checkup in a private clinic: all the tests and doctors I couldn't afford in the US for 10 years. It was so fast and high quality! I was very impressed by the Ukrainian service, which is nowhere near the American service, the large number of good Ukrainian brands, and the fact that business is opening and developing despite the war," says Marichka.
In Ukraine, Marichka became an ambassador for the Save The Limb Foundation, which helps wounded soldiers. She also works for Adra Ukraine, an international charity foundation that helps the most vulnerable.
"Now, after returning, I realise how cool we are, and I want to preserve it. We are a very free nation, I feel completely free here. Yes, we, with our own mentality, quarrel here, but here we unite shoulder to shoulder against the enemy. I feel emotionally easier and calmer here, even though there is a constant threat to my life. But we are on our own land, from which no one can drive us away. I am happy because I am home," she says.
We left for the sake of our children, and we came back for their sake
We meet Olena Zakharchenko, her husband and three sons near Lukyanivka, where the first McDonald's in Kyiv to be damaged by the airstrikes has just been repaired. This was the ninth strike since the start of the full-scale invasion, according to local estimates. The horror of the first days of Russian aggression and the air strikes forced the Zakharchenkos to move abroad because their sons could no longer take the stress.
"You run out to the balcony, see that the missiles have hit, and don't know what to do next: grab the kids and run to the shelter or if it's too late. One son closed the windows, the other pulled on his hood and hid in it, and the third stopped sleeping altogether. It became clear that we had to take them somewhere for a while," Olena recalls.
Her husband Artem was offered a job as a lecturer under a scholarship programme at the University of Bremen. In Germany, the Zakharchenko family did not receive social benefits and rented their own accommodation. All three sons went to school, including the eldest, 17-year-old Marko, although in Kyiv he entered a university and started online studies: in Germany, he was obliged to return to school and had to study at the university and a German school at the same time. While his younger siblings, a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old, were trying to adapt, Marko kept talking about returning home.
"He said he'd had enough, that Kyiv was his city. I told him: you're turning 18, you won't be able to go abroad anymore, because the gates will close behind you in Ukraine. But he was ready to leave us and walk home to Kyiv," recalls Olena Zakharchenko.
The Zakharchenko family returned home in the spring of 2023, when the capital was attacked by drones almost every night for a month. Almost two years later, they have already adapted to life in the war, although Lukyanivka is still uneasy. Now only Olena and their youngest son, 16, can travel abroad. However, the family sees good educational prospects in Ukraine.
"The Germans keep Ukrainian children in mixed classes indefinitely, do not allow them to study further. And when you finish your education, you can only go into certain professions, you can't go to university. It doesn't matter if you live in Germany or Ukraine, you can go to Germany anyway. And if you have dropped out of a German school, it is very difficult to reach this level," says Olena.
She is convinced that the family would have managed to build a life from scratch in Germany, despite the difficulties. But in Ukraine, she already has social capital, friends, and a home, even if it is unsettling.
She came back for her husband
Kseniya Habdrakhimova also returned to Ukraine. But she had a different reason - her husband stayed here.
The full-scale war divided her family, like thousands of women who took their children and an anxious suitcase and left, wherever they went. Her two-year-old daughter was afraid of sirens. Kseniya decided to go to Cyprus to live with her volunteer friends when the Russian atrocities in Bucha were revealed. At first, she did not even apply for temporary protection status. But the war continued, and she was shocked by new horrific messages from her homeland. Kseniya gradually settled down in Cyprus, where she, a musician by training, started working as a music teacher for Ukrainian children and took part in events organised by the Ukrainian community.
"I came abroad from maternity leave, even after the quarantine. It was very difficult mentally. These classes became anti-stress therapy for me. I performed at the opening of the Ukrainian cultural centre and at charity events. I even offered to dance during rallies," recalls Kseniya Habdrakhimova.
On the island, she made friends, gained contacts, became in demand, found a job and her vocation. But her husband remained in Ukraine. "It's very hard to live like that. My daughter began to suffer because she missed her dad so much. So I thought that I left (Ukraine) to save my child's psyche and life. But it turns out that she is experiencing stress again, already in Cyprus, because she is not at home," says Kseniya.
She does not hide the fact that it was scary to return home after such a break. Because the news read in the telegram scares those abroad more than those in Ukraine, who have gradually adapted to life under fire.
"It was unusual to see the green Carpathian mountains after almost two years of desert landscapes in Cyprus, but my soul was resting, despite the long journey and fatigue. It was as if I had never left Kyiv. My child went to kindergarten here. There is no better place on earth than home," says Ksenia.
Who will return and why
The share of refugees who plan to return to Ukraine is decreasing and at the end of 2024, for the first time, it was below half of those surveyed. These are the data of the Centre for Economic Strategy.
"Those who had previously planned to return for sure or rather changed their intentions towards non-return. Some of the refugees who planned to return in early 2024 have already done so," the study says.
The main reasons that deter refugees from returning are the security factor, uncertainty and economic factors: difficulties in finding work, low living standards or destroyed housing.
In addition, according to Ella Libanova, the future of children for many refugees will be one of the decisive factors for them to return or stay abroad. "This is an objective reality. We need to explain that after the war, we are counting on help, that we have confirmation that there will be some investment growth in Ukraine, jobs, decent wages, etc. If we do not do this, nothing will happen. Maybe then less than a third will return home," the demographer predicts.
Therefore, it is worth keeping in touch with those who have gone abroad, so that after the war and the opening of the borders for men, families can be reunited in Ukraine.
According to Oleksiy Chernyshev, Minister of National Unity, unity hubs are being opened abroad to help Ukrainians keep in touch with their homeland: "We will work to encourage the return of some citizens, but we must be prepared for the fact that some Ukrainians will remain abroad. This is also normal to some extent. The main thing is that all Ukrainians preserve their Ukrainian identity and develop Ukraine. We are constantly talking to Ukrainians abroad: they dream of this, but, of course, on the condition of security, of ensuring this security." He is convinced that at least a third will return after the war.
In an interview with the NGO Holka, Ukrainian World Congress President Pavlo Grod stressed that those Ukrainians who remain abroad should run for office at all levels of government to strengthen advocacy for Ukraine, establish educational centres and join actions in support of Ukraine.