Ukrainian lawmaker Maksym Tkachenko said that his earlier statement about 150,000 internally displaced persons (IDP) returning to occupied territories was only his assumption, not based on real data, Ukrinform reported on Nov. 25.
"There is no such data. This was my unfounded and emotional assumption," Tkachenko told Ukrinform.
"I spoke incorrectly, so I'm taking back my words," said the lawmaker who serves on a committee focused on human rights and the liberation of occupied territories.
Tkachenko previously said during an interview with Ukrinform published on Nov. 24 that 150,000 IDPs have already returned to Russian-occupied territories, including 70,000 who have come back to the southern city of Mariupol.
Tkachenko now explained that individual IDPs are forced to travel to occupied territories for various reasons, but "it is by no means about hundreds or even tens of thousands, and general verified statistics cannot even theoretically exist."
An estimated 3.7 million IDPs live in Ukraine as Russian aggression and occupation have driven them out of their homes. Many of them face difficulties securing housing and employment.
The problem of mass displacement in Ukraine continues to grow as Russia's ongoing advance in the east leads to more civilian evacuations. Russia now occupies around 20% of Ukrainian territory.
Olena Goncharova
(Updated: )
