“People from the Temporarily Occupied Territories Cannot Receive Compensation for the Destroyed Housing They Have Lost,” – Yaroslav Taranets, Advocate at East SOS, in an Interview with DW Ukrainian

Under the eRecovery state program, more than 143,000 Ukrainian families have received compensation for homes destroyed or damaged by the war. However, none of these families have housing located in the temporarily occupied territories.

DW Ukrainian reported on the living conditions of such families and their prospects for receiving state support. Commenting on the situation, Yaroslav Taranets, Advocate at East SOS, noted that out of more than 60,000 applications submitted by internally displaced persons since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the majority concern compensation for lost housing.

“We have a law that provides for compensation under the eRecovery program. However, it applies only to those who had their housing registered in government-controlled areas. People from the temporarily occupied territories are currently unable to receive compensation for the destroyed housing they have lost,” – explained the human rights defender.

Last year, the Verkhovna Rada passed draft law No. 11161, which aimed to change this. According to the proposal, homeowners in the temporarily occupied territories could transfer ownership of their property to the state and become eligible for compensation under the eRecovery program. Unfortunately, the law has not yet been signed.

Yaroslav Taranets noted that, at present, people who have lost their homes due to the occupation can only rely on the international compensation mechanism: “This is a well-known register of losses, but it is currently only being filled with applications for lost housing and other categories of losses.”

The Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine also provided an update regarding housing assistance: since late November, IDPs from the temporarily occupied territories can receive support, but only in two categories – combatants and persons with disabilities resulting from the war. “Expansion of the program will be possible after attracting additional financial resources,” the ministry said.

You can watch the DW Ukrainian report featuring stories from IDPs from the temporarily occupied territories and detailed information about the compensation mechanism here.

A new platform for finding jobs and housing for IDPs was recently launched in Ukraine.