Fewer Refugees, Fewer Benefits: Latvia Cuts Assistance for Ukrainians 0 7

Currently, 6.9 million Ukrainians are registered as refugees outside the country, of which approximately 4.37 million are under temporary protection of the European Union, according to Eurostat data as of August 31. This summer, the EU Council extended their temporary protection status until March 4, 2027.

Journalists examined how Ukrainians have settled in neighboring countries and how these countries have transitioned from urgent housing and benefits provision to long-term integration of refugees into society, as well as whether local residents' attitudes towards the displaced have changed.

According to Natalia Yushchenko, the Vidzeme coordinator of the Ukrainian diaspora, who fled from war-torn Chernihiv in the spring of 2022 and accidentally found herself in Smiltene with her sons, the attitude of Latvian residents and local governments towards Ukrainian refugees has not changed since the beginning of the war and significant support is still felt, although it is gradually decreasing.

Despite the fact that hostilities have been ongoing for three and a half years and the flow of people from Ukraine has not stopped, Latvian government structures lack understanding of how to act regarding Ukrainian civilians in the country. State institutions still view Ukrainians as a temporary crisis group rather than as people who might stay in Latvia for a long time, as many of them have nowhere else to return to, according to a study by the public policy center Providus titled "The Experience of Latvian Municipalities in Receiving Peaceful Population from Ukraine: From Crisis to Long-Term Solutions."

Since the beginning of the war, the number of Ukrainian civilians seeking refuge in Latvia has decreased from 44,174 to approximately 31,000, according to the Ministry of the Interior. At the same time, financial support from the state budget is also decreasing: while in 2022, 79 million euros were allocated for these purposes from emergency funds, by 2026, the amount will decrease to 40 million euros.

This year, 15,572 Ukrainian citizens entered Latvia through its external border. Minister of the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis noted at a government meeting on October 14 that the flow of incoming Ukrainians is significantly lower than in the early years of the war, with an average of 500 to 600 people registering for temporary protection status in Latvia each month. At the same time, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of those whose temporary protection status has been revoked, as they did not apply for an extension after their visa or temporary residence permit expired. According to the Ministry of the Interior, three times more Ukrainian refugees pass through Latvia than remain to live in the country.