REPORT. Dialogue with the Ukrainian Community in Ireland

As a result of the full-scale war launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, millions of Ukrainian citizens were forced to leave their homes and flee abroad. According to the Civil Network OPORA, as of May 2025, approximately 8.9 million Ukrainians were staying outside of Ukraine. While it is difficult to determine exact figures due to varying data from Ukrainian and international institutions, the share of Ukrainian citizens abroad currently represents about 15–20% of Ukraine’s population prior to February 24, 2022. This indicates that Ukraine's demographic and migration situation requires urgent intervention from the Ukrainian government, the civil sector, and the partner states that have hosted the largest numbers of Ukrainian citizens.

Civil Network OPORA held a facilitated dialogue in Berlin, the capital of Germany, to improve citizen engagement and integrate their views into public policies, ensuring their effective implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Among the key objectives OPORA set for these dialogues were systematizing the experiences of Ukrainian communities abroad, developing a strategy for their interaction with Ukraine's democratic institutions and civil society, and fostering a shared understanding of the problems, needs, and methods for involving Ukrainians abroad in the formation of domestic policies.

On October 16–17, a Multistakeholder Dialogue between Ukrainian and German parliamentarians, government officials, and experts took place in Berlin. The event was organized by the Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP, Berlin) and Civil Network OPORA.

The full-scale Russian invasion has significantly changed Ukrainian society. Distinct and traumatic experiences of living through the war and a variety of views on controversial, socially important issues create fertile ground for rising tension in the public space—particularly through mutual accusations, hate speech, and humiliation of others based on their experience. In democratic societies, such rhetoric poses a particular threat, as it undermines civic unity, reduces trust in institutions, and lowers the effectiveness of public dialogue, thereby complicating the search for consensus and the possibility of peaceful conflict resolution.

Speech by Olga Aivazovska, Chair of the Board of Civil Network OPORA, at the 25th Foreign Policy Conference “Reclaiming Peace? Freedom and Security in a Fragmented World” on September 29, 2025, in Berlin. 

International discussions of the possible peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia often include debates about various territorial issues, including possible concessions. For instance, ahead of the most recent meeting of the US and Russian presidents in Alaska, Donald Trump said he wants a "land swap" between Ukraine and Russia[1]. Russia instead demands full control over four regions of Ukraine (including those partially controlled by Ukrainian Armed Forces) and annexed Crimea. The Ukrainian government, meanwhile, cannot agree to ceding Ukrainian territory: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly cited the Ukrainian Constitution, which explicitly lists all subnational administrative and territorial units of the country, including eastern and southern regions that are partially under temporary occupation. The Constitution contains a separate section on the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, granting it partial autonomy. The President of Ukraine, therefore, rejects Russian territorial claims as unconstitutional. OPORA prepared an OPINION on Possibility of Ukraine's Voluntary Cession of Part of Its Territory

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has passed a law that changes the approach to citizenship by introducing the institution of multiple citizenship. This new development has raised a multitude of questions: who will be able to hold several IDs, how will the new law affect Ukrainians abroad and in the occupied territories, and what risks and benefits does it entail? Lawyers of the Civil Network OPORA have analysed the text of the law and prepared answers to the most common questions. Below, we will explain exactly what will change for both Ukrainian citizens and foreigners who seek to obtain a Ukrainian passport.

This study is part of a broader project aimed at assessing the level of social cohesion in Ukraine. Accordingly, the list of social groups selected for analysis was determined in advance. The research focuses on five groups: people with disabilities, veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war, internally displaced persons, Ukrainians living abroad, and Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine. This part of the project seeks to examine the extent to which these groups are represented in the information space, the contexts in which they are mentioned, and the perceptions that form around them.

This report presents the results of a qualitative study by the Civil Network OPORA, dedicated to strengthening social cohesion and involving five potentially vulnerable groups of Ukrainian society in public life: Ukrainians abroad, internally displaced persons, veterans and their families, people with disabilities, and Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine.