War consequences and economic problems: risk factors reported by residents of Kolomyia, Turbivka, and Shevchenkivska communities

Publication date: September 11, 2024

Author: Yuliia Bilyk, LDN Communications Manager

The survey of residents of the three communities participating in the project “Sense of Security, Social Cohesion and Dialogue Practices: Finding the Best Tools at the Community Level” implemented with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation and the European Union has helped to identify the security areas having the greatest impact on the life of an individual and the community as a whole. We will tell you which security factors are typical for residents of the Kolomyia Community of the Ivano-Frankivsk Region, Turbivka Community of the Vinnytsia Region, and Shevchenkivska Community of the Mykolaiv Region.

Critical Danger Factors in Kolomyia Community

Kolomyia Community of Ivano-Frankivsk Region is an urban community, larger than the other two communities in terms of population (70,644), and includes the city of Kolomyia and 10 surrounding villages. After the full-scale invasion, internally displaced persons from the occupied and frontline regions took refuge within the community.

The local team conducted 305 interviews in Kolomyia and eight villages. 245 interviewees were city residents, and 60 were village residents.

“Overall, 72% of Kolomyia Community residents feel safe in their daily lives, and only 28% are concerned. At the same time, the percentage of people who experience anxiety in everyday life is much higher – 35% of residents are constantly anxious and another 31% are anxious from time to time,” says Mykhailo Danyshchuk, a Project Data Collection, Analysis Specialist and Representative of Trikutnyk NGO.

Almost half, 45.5%, of respondents said they plan their lives for no more than a week. Among the factors that most weaken the sense of security, respondents named military (78%), economic problems (38%), power outages (36%), and mobilization measures (29%).

Residents of the Kolomyia community feel most anxious and helpless about their financial situation: rising prices, inflation, lack of money for family needs, fear of losing their jobs, lower wages or delays in wages, termination of payments from the state, and unstable earnings.

“If a household loses any source of income, 44% of the surveyed residents would only have enough savings for a month, and 8% have no savings at all, which again indicates a very difficult economic situation and the people’s experiences related to it,” emphasizes Mykhailo Danyshchuk.

According to Mykhailo Danyshchuk, the research was revealed to him by how often residents mentioned tensions and misunderstandings between people with different political views, as well as between local and internally displaced persons. Tension between certain groups of people in the community was mentioned by 88% of respondents.

“And the other thing that surprised me was the great financial difficulties. When answering any question, the residents would say that it was financial problems that made them feel insecure, whether it was about their health, the condition of their homes, or their children’s education. There is an expression: if there is a war, you will have to take the dollar out of the stash. As we can see, this is not true. People have no savings and can plan their lives for a week at most,” emphasizes Mykhailo Danyshchuk.

Critical Danger Factors in the Turbivska Community

The Turbivska Settlement Community of Vinnytsia Oblast, which includes the village of Turbiv and 21 villages, represents the center of Ukraine. 

The population is about 18,000 people. The lion’s share of the community’s economy is agriculture, which is experiencing a shortage of workers due to the war and the mobilization of men. The community, like Kolomyia, has received internally displaced persons, for whom it seeks to create comfortable living conditions.

In Turbivska Community, a local team of interviewers surveyed 301 respondents in Turbiv Village and all Starostynskyh districts (18 villages). According to the survey, the main factors that affect the sense of security of Turbivska Community residents after February 24, 2022, are the mobilization of men, the appearance of IDPs from other regions of Ukraine, which is now almost invisible (among those surveyed, internally displaced persons accounted for only 2%), attacks by enemy shaheeds and their downing directly over residents’ homes.

61% of the surveyed residents of Turbivska Community said that they feel generally safe in their daily lives.

At least half of the residents are concerned about the safety of their lives and health and the security of their property and savings. More than 40% are concerned about the stability of their livelihoods, keeping their homes in a habitable condition, maintaining and restoring their health, and having enough money to meet their family’s needs.

Interviewers asked respondents about their life planning horizon, where the shortest period of time was up to a week, and respondents asked if they could choose a shorter period, saying that it was “difficult to plan even for one day.” 60% of respondents are currently postponing planning or implementing important plans due to the high level of uncertainty.

“The main concerns of the Turbivska Community residents and the issues that weaken their sense of security are the war, mobilization, blackouts, and their consequences, as well as economic problems. Residents frequently complain about the lack of money and limited financial resources,” emphasizes Mykhailo Bardyn.

The community residents’ concern about the financial situation is explained by the fact that, according to the survey, in the event of a household losing any source of income, 34% of residents will have enough savings for only a month, and 13% have no savings at all.

Critical risk factors for the Shevchenkivska Community

The Shevchenkivska rural Community of Mykolaiv Region is located next to the Odesa-Melitopol Highway, close to Kherson. Some settlements in the Community (21 villages and towns in total) were under Russian occupation during the first nine months after February 2022. As of 2024, in the village of Shevchenkove alone, about 45% of buildings were damaged by shelling, and 540 households were destroyed. Many people have left the community, but others have arrived – internally displaced persons from more dangerous settlements, in particular, the Kherson Region.

The demographic situation of the Shevchenkivska Community has changed significantly due to the war. During the period of occupation and proximity to the area of active hostilities, villagers rapidly left the community. At the time of the survey, almost 80% of residents had already returned to their homes. In addition, the community was replenished with internally displaced persons. The number of young people and men has decreased. The latter is related to the processes of mobilization and employment of men outside the community. Accordingly, men made up a minority among the respondents — 35%.

The local team conducted 300 street interviews in the central village of Shevchenkove and 12 other villages. According to the survey, only 37% of community residents feel generally safe in their daily lives. The majority — 63% — do not feel safe. 28% of respondents said they were constantly worried, and 46% said they were worried from time to time.

Similar to the Turbivska Community, residents of the Shevchenkivska Community indicated that they would choose the “here and now” horizon for planning their lives if there was such an option.

“Certainly, the time of the survey also influenced the answers. For example, in one of the settlements we interviewed people after an enemy air strike. In another village, the survey was conducted during a fire that came close to the outbuildings,” recalls Iryna Shaptala, a Local Team Expert.

Only 1% of respondents plan their lives for more than a year. 83% of respondents postpone planning and implementing important plans due to the high level of uncertainty. The factors that have the greatest impact on the sense of security are military operations (96%), power outages (56%), mobilization measures (46%), and economics measures (36%).

Residents are worried about their lives and health, as well as the safety of their property and savings (83% and 70% respectively). 

“No wonder, because some villages in the community were close to the front line,” notes Iryna Shaptala, ”Among the settlements where we interviewed residents, there were those where every residential building was damaged”.

The respondents also indicated that they are significantly concerned about the threat to their financial situation: losing their jobs or government benefits, inability to work because the areas have not yet been demined damaged businesses have not been restored, and lack of funds to meet family needs.

“People are afraid to lose their lives or health because of the next attack. Residents of the de-occupied villages are afraid that they may fall under occupation again. That is, most of the concerns are related to the hostilities or the unstable financial situation, which is also caused by the hostilities,” emphasizes Iryna Shaptala, Local Team Expert.

Among the issues of concern is access to medical treatment, especially in remote villages with poor road conditions, and access to proper education, as many educational institutions are damaged and there are no adequate shelters on the territory of schools.

“Access to information has become a particular danger factor for our community. It came out on top among those that respondents said they could not influence,” emphasizes Iryna Shaptala.

Iryna Shaptala believes that the fact that 64% of residents reported their ability to influence what is happening in their lives is a positive signal for the Shevchenkivska Community, as they have already been hardened by the events of years 2022 and 2023.

76% of respondents feel that they are able to cope with the most difficult situations that may occur to them either on their own or with the help of other people.

“People who saw the war not on TV, but from inside, learn about their inner capabilities: mental, moral, physical. They really evaluate life and their place in it differently,” adds Oleh Pylypenko, Head of the Shevchenkivska Community, who was held in Russian captivity for three months after stumbling upon a reconnaissance group of enemy paratroopers. ”I know from the inside what it’s like to be in Russian torture chambers, in solitary confinement, when your ribs are broken and other bodily harm is inflicted. But, despite all this, we stay here, in place, rebuilding the community, making sure that the people who lived here all return, so that we are a safe community for people.”

The material was prepared with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework of the European Renaissance of Ukraine initiative. The material represents the position of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the European Union or “European Renaissance of Ukraine” initiative position.

If you have notices an error on the web-site, please, highlight the text and press ctrl-enter.