‘People are more willing to help residents of Shebekino than refugees from Donbas’

How Ukrainian refugees and Russians displaced from the border regions resettle in Belgorod

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees and Russians living along the border have relocated to the Russian city of Belgorod and the surrounding areas. Both groups have found it challenging to find temporary shelters, receive payments from the government, and start new lives. Independent outlet Verstka spoke to those who chose to resettle in Belgorod to understand the similarities and differences in their experiences. Meduza in English is sharing an abridged translation of the story.

Olga

Zhuravlyovka, Belgorod region, Russia

On February 25, 2022, just 24 hours after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Belgorod’s governor first offered for residents from the village of Zhuravlyovka, located 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the border, to be evacuated. At the time, the governor called the shelling an “incident.”

By the spring of 2022, the shelling no longer seemed like an “incident.” Zhuravlyovka became a hotspot, full of damaged houses and vehicles. Many have since left the village, which had a population of about 1,000 people before the war. Those who chose to stay were told they would be responsible for their own safety.

A week before the start of the war, when military equipment was first being set up in the region, Olga (name changed), a resident of Zhuravlyovka, took her children to relatives in the Moscow region. Olga and her spouse then registered in one of Belgorod’s hotels, which had become a temporary shelter. The family started to live between the two regions until the constant shelling of Zhuravlyovka completely blocked off access to the village. By the fall, Olga and her family moved into a temporary shelter. She tried to move to another region but felt like an outsider. “Everywhere you turn, they would say, and who are you?”

Maria

Kharkiv region, Ukraine

24-year-old Maria (name changed) and her family are from Ukraine’s Kharkiv region and spent seven months under occupation — from March to September 2022. During the large-scale retreat of Russian troops, Maria, her husband, and their two-year-old daughter left their village in the ​​Kupiansk district for Russia. “We were scared that the attacks would soon get worse, we were scared that the forest and fields around us were covered in landmines — and we have a small child,” she explained. The family settled 15 kilometers (approximately 9 miles) from the border with Ukraine, in the town of Valuyki in the Belgorod region.

“Housing prices were increasing, and few people were taking in refugees. People were scared that areas with refugees would be attacked,” recalls Maria.

Shelling and explosions could be heard from Valuyki. Maria was worried her daughter wasn’t able to get enough sleep. The family decided to move to a temporary shelter in Belgorod. Maria says they spent nine days there, the maximum amount of time allowed. Then, they had to decide what to do next — either stay and rent an apartment in Belgorod or go further to their assigned place of residence. Maria’s husband decided to stay in the Belgorod region and look for a job, while she traveled with her daughter to the Oryol region where she received a placement at a temporary shelter.

“We spent three months at that temporary shelter [in the Oryol region] while waiting for my husband to receive his first payment and pick us up,” recalls Maria. “Russians who left the border regions didn’t stay in the same accommodations. They lived separately. I don’t think it’s because of the concern about conflict, but because their accommodations are in different conditions. Since they’re citizens, it seems like they’re allowed to ask for more.”

Viktoria

Shebekino, Belgorod region, Russia

Viktoria came to Shebekino in the Belgorod region from the small village of Maksimovka located 35 kilometers (around 23.6 miles) away six years ago. In June, after Shebekino came under heavy shelling, Victoria and her husband took a few of their belongings and evacuated to the city of Belgorod, where they were given a room in a dormitory that was part of temporary shelter. The family realized that it was unlikely they would be able to return home and decided to start a new life in Belgorod. Viktoria’s husband quickly found a job, while she looked for childcare for her daughter.

What’s the difference between refugees and internally displaced people?

According to the Russian authorities, 5.3 million people have arrived from Ukraine since the start of the war. Human rights activists specializing in assisting refugees believe this figure is much too high. The Civic Assistance Committee told Verstka that, in December 2022, there were about 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees in Russia — that’s the number that have applied for a one-time payment.

As for the Belgorod region, local authorities say that 3,500 people have left the border towns. In June, another 60,000 people were evacuated from Shebekino and its surrounding areas. In contrast with those from Ukraine, residents of the Belgorod region are not legally considered refugees, explains Nikolay Voroshilov, the press-secretary for the Civic Assistance Committee. “Legally, they are fully entitled to claim the status of internally displaced people,” he says, but receiving this status is nearly impossible in Russia.

At the beginning of this year, 321 people were legally considered internally displaced, according to the Civic Assistance Committee. “In the mid 1990s, several thousands of people had this status, in connection to the Chechen wars,” explains Voroshilov. Now, he says human rights activists don’t recommend those affected by the shelling in the Belgorod region to seek the status of internally displaced person. “In practice, nearly no one receives this status,” he notes.

Ukrainian refugees face obstacles and discrimination when applying for payments and documents

In February 2022, the Russian authorities promised they would give Ukrainian citizens and passport holders of the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic” a one-time payment of 10,000 rubles ($108). In August, Putin wrote another decree that authorized families to receive additional payments for childcare, including monthly installments of 4,000 rubles (around $42) per child for families with two parents.

Viktoria from Shebekino couldn’t receive the one time payment because she didn’t have time to register as a resident of the town before the shelling. Hundreds of residents of Shebekino found themselves in the same situation.

Ukrainian refugees also had problems receiving their payments on time. Maria from Kharkiv received her 10,000-ruble ($108) payment two and a half months after she arrived in Russia. She found it easier to receive payments for childcare. She was able to receive 4,000 rubles ($42) per month until December 2022, when the payments suddenly stopped with no explanation.

The process of receiving Russian citizenship was the most difficult part for Maria’s family, she says. She decided to apply for citizenship after her migration card, which was given to her when she first arrived, expired. She said she wanted to protect her child and live in stability. “There [in Ukraine] there’s constant shelling, so much land has been mined, and there are occasional explosions. This was very difficult, especially for a child. I just want to stop flinching from sounds, you know?” she explained.

It costs approximately 12,000-13,000 rubles ($127-$137) to apply for citizenship. “It was an unbelievable amount,” Maria explained. She decided to use part of her payment from the government to pay for the application. Along with her daughter, she received citizenship after three and a half months, but they didn’t have enough money for her husband to submit his application.

Verstka spoke with volunteers who said that many Ukrainian refugees face obstacles and discrimination when applying for payments and documents. One volunteer who works with refugees at a temporary shelter said, “Either you’re a Ukrainian and sit with your mouth shut, or you trade in your passport for a Russian one and receive all the benefits. Of course, many didn’t want to do that. It’s understandable.”

“There’s a very big difference between these situations, because displaced people from the Belgorod region have Russian citizenship,” explains the press-secretary of the Civic Assistance Committee Nikolay Voroshilov. “Russian citizens immediately have the right to medical care, they have much fewer problems with employment, they immediately receive a pension, they have an employment record. Ukrainian refugees are often unable to confirm their employment status, leading to tiny pensions.”

‘Residents from Shebekino are our neighbours’

“Now, there’s ten times as much humanitarian aid,” explains Tatiana, a volunteer who works with refugees. “I remember they brought the Ukrainians one or two trucks [of humanitarian aid] and that’s it. After that, two months of silence. […] Now, the warehouses are stocked up, there’s a lot of humanitarian aid, they keep bringing it. […] There wasn’t this kind of supply for Ukrainian refugees.”

“We see that people are more willing to help residents of Shebekino than refugees from Donbas,” she explains. “I think it’s because residents from Shebekino are our neighbors.”

“Ukrainians accepted humanitarian aid, rarely making any complaints or comments,” explained Alexandra, a volunteer in Belgorod. “They were grateful to take secondhand dishes, bed linens. Residents of Shebekino and Zhuravlyovka understand that they’re citizens of this country and that they have rights, and so they can complain to the authorities, because they themselves chose the authorities. They behave differently — they make more demands and complaints.” But in recent months, aid for Ukrainians has “fallen by the wayside,” says Alexandra.

When Shebekino came under attack in June, Ukrainian refugees started to help those evacuating the town, explained Yulya Nemchinova, another volunteer in Belgorod. “Many Ukrainians became volunteers and collected and handed out humanitarian kits daily,” she recounts. “They got involved, since they know how difficult it can be.”

‘We just want to live in peace’

Olga from Zhuravlyovka is preparing to move to a new residence. Her family joined a waitlist in April. Two months prior, Putin ordered 9.4 billion rubles (approximately $1 million) to be taken from the federal budget to house families who were victims of shelling in the Belgorod region. In July, the head of the Belgorod regional administration Vladimir Pertsev said 535 families had reserved apartments and houses. Many people are still waiting for these accommodations.

Together with her daughter and husband, Viktoria returned to her apartment in Shebekino. She said she wanted to stay in the temporary shelter, and not return somewhere dangerous, but the authorities in the Belgorod region re-opened entry into the city. The temporary shelter told her she had to leave by July 15.

Viktoria from Shebekino has still not received her 10,000-ruble ($108) payment. “I even wrote [to the Belgorod regional governor] Gladkov, and received the response ‘You will be contacted.’ But they’ve been contacting us for 1.5 months already. They just don’t consider us people,” she said.

As for Maria from the Kharkiv region, no one in the Russian government is promising her housing. Her family settled in the village of Utyanskoye in the Belgorod region. Maria’s husband found work driving tractors and they received an empty house from an agricultural company — though it doesn’t have heating, a sewage system, or hot water. Maria often thinks about her life in Ukraine. They lived in a comfortable house; her husband worked at a factory and earned a good salary. Now their monthly income is between 18,000 rubles ($190) and 30,000 ($318) rubles.

“But you don’t understand, I’m not complaining,” explains Maria. “Now, I basically have enough money for the necessities. It’s just not enough for appliances: a fridge, a boiler — necessities for the summer.”

She admits that she misses her old life of comfort, but doesn’t want to leave Russia. Europe seems to be an even more difficult place to integrate than Russia. Maria is scared to return to Ukraine, where she says she and her husband would be considered collaborators. “It turns out that we illegally crossed the border and received citizenship here,” she explains. “Even though I was running away from the war and just wanted to live in peace, we’re considered traitors there.”

“The factory where my husband worked no longer exists,” she explains, saying she’s sure she’ll never return to her old life. “Both the Russian and the Ukrainian armies have crossed the forests and fields in our village — how much land has been covered in landmines? Each region still needs to be liberated. I don’t think that liberation and restoration will end very quickly. We have a child. We want her to grow up with some kind of security.”

Story by Verstka

Abridged translation by Sasha Slobodov