ukraine funeral
© APFuneral workers down the coffin with Ukrainian soldier Andrii Husak aka Lytsar of 47th brigade during a funeral ceremony in Dnipro, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Ukrainian diplomats are increasingly refusing to return to Ukraine after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.

This information is reported by the publication "Zerkalo nedeli", citing data from its diplomatic sources.

As the publication writes, since the beginning of 2022, at least 40-60% of diplomats have not returned from Ukrainian embassies abroad. In particular, last year, around twenty embassy and consulate staff members from the United States were supposed to return to Ukraine, but only one of them came home. And from some embassies, no one returned at all.

The main factors influencing diplomats' decisions are financial matters and established family life abroad. However, over a hundred diplomats who did return to Ukraine from long-term foreign assignments have been struggling to find positions in the central apparatus of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for months.

"This demotivates them, depriving them of the chance for career growth," the publication writes.

Many diplomats whose families are abroad fear that they won't be able to travel back to them after their return.

Another factor for refusing to return to Ukraine is the fear of conscription.

At the same time, the decision not to return to Ukraine is made by both young employees of diplomatic institutions and older ones, including third secretaries and lower-ranking personnel.