Ukrainian MP and member of the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on Human Rights, Maksym Tkachenko, has clarified that his earlier statement about the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) returning to temporarily occupied territories (TOT) was his own assumption, not based on data.
In a comment to Ukrinform, Tkachenko stated:
“There are no such data. It was my unfounded and emotional assumption,” he said.
According to Tkachenko, there are isolated cases of Ukrainians traveling to temporarily occupied territories for various reasons, “but it is by no means in the hundreds or even tens of thousands, and comprehensive verified statistics are theoretically impossible.”
“I misspoke, and I want to retract my words,” Tkachenko said.
Previously, in an interview with Ukrinform, the MP claimed that about 150,000 IDPs had returned to temporarily occupied territories, including up to 70,000 to occupied Mariupol.
Source: MP retracts statement on number of IDPs returning to TOT
