Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Iryna Vereshchuk, stated that there are no official statistics on the number of people returning to temporarily occupied territories (TOT), nor can there be such data. She urged politicians to avoid manipulating public opinion and spreading fakes.
Vereshchuk said this during a televised broadcast, Ukrinform reports.
“We have data from the Border Guard Service, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Foreign Intelligence Service, and the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — all competent agencies confirming that there are no official data on how many people have moved to TOT from Ukraine-controlled territory. Borders with the Russian Federation are closed, and only one humanitarian corridor operates for entry into Ukraine, allowing people from Russia and TOT to enter Ukraine, but not leave,” Vereshchuk emphasized.
She explained that the only way Ukrainian citizens could travel to Russia is through Sheremetyevo Airport.
“People buy tickets, which are very expensive. We know this because we work to return children deported by Russia and provide financial assistance to their guardians traveling to retrieve them. It costs about $1,000 and involves traveling through three countries, undergoing filtration, and passing numerous inspection points,” Vereshchuk added.
Vereshchuk called claims about large numbers of Ukrainian citizens allegedly returning to TOT falkes and media hype. She urged commentators to refrain from discussing unverifiable topics, especially those lacking support from official or credible sources.
Earlier, MP Maksym Tkachenko claimed in an interview with Ukrinform that approximately 150,000 internally displaced persons had returned to TOT, including up to 70,000 to occupied Mariupol. He later retracted these statements.
Source: No official data available on number of people returning to TOT – Vereshchuk
