30% of Mariupol residents who left the city at the beginning of the war have returned after its capture by the Russians

Approximately 30% of Mariupol residents who left the city at the beginning of the war have returned after its capture by Russian forces.

This information reported according to Vadym Boychenko, the mayor of Mariupol, speaking at a meeting of the Association of Ukrainian Cities.

According to Boychenko, a similar trend is observed in other communities within occupied territories.

“This is primarily due to Russian propaganda and the lack of available housing. People have nowhere to live and cannot restore the living conditions they had before the full-scale invasion, which forces them to return to occupied territories,” Boychenko explained.

Previously, it was reported that 130,000 internally displaced persons had returned to occupied areas or combat zones due to the high cost of rental housing.