- June 24, 2026
- 7:59 pm
- Ukraine
When it comes to the reconstruction of Ukraine, large numbers are often mentioned. Hundreds of billions of dollars in future investments. Thousands of kilometers of roads that need to be repaired or rebuilt. Hundreds of destroyed hospitals, schools, enterprises, and energy facilities.
But increasingly, international experts, economists, and government representatives are talking about another problem. The main deficit of future Ukraine is not only money, equipment, or building materials. The main deficit is people.
That is why among the projects to be presented at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdansk, Poland, on June 25-26, special attention is drawn to the digital platform “Dodomu” (translated from Ukrainian – “Home”). It is being developed by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine.
At first glance, this may look like another government online service. But in fact, it is a more important attempt: Ukraine is trying for the first time to systematically answer the question on which its future depends.
How to maintain a connection with millions of Ukrainians who have found themselves abroad?
Why the reconstruction of Ukraine is not just about money
According to Eurostat, as of the end of April 2026, more than 4.37 million Ukrainian citizens were under temporary protection in European Union countries. Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic have accepted the most Ukrainians.
This statistic is important not only in itself. Among the recipients of temporary protection, a significant portion consists of adult women and children. This means that outside Ukraine is a huge part of the country’s future labor, intellectual, and demographic potential.
The problem is broader than European statistics. According to estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the total number of Ukrainians forced to leave their homes due to the war exceeds nine million people, including both refugees abroad and internally displaced persons.
Against this backdrop, international financial institutions are calculating the cost of future recovery. The latest joint assessment by the World Bank, the European Commission, the UN, and the government of Ukraine indicates needs at the level of 588 billion dollars.
But even the largest investments will not automatically solve the issue.
Who will build housing for the displaced? Who will work at new enterprises? Who will treat patients, teach children, launch technological projects, create businesses, and keep the economy competitive with other countries?
That is why the topic of human capital is becoming one of the central directions of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 for the first time. In Gdansk on June 25-26, it will be discussed alongside investments, security, European integration, and business development.
What the “Dodomu” platform should provide
The “Dodomu” platform, being prepared by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, should become a unified information space for Ukrainians abroad.
It plans to gather information about work, housing, government services, educational opportunities for children, business support, and reintegration tools for those who decide to return to Ukraine.
In fact, it is an attempt by the state to work not only with the return of citizens but also with maintaining a connection with the vast Ukrainian community abroad.
This is especially important for the Israeli audience. Israel knows well that a connection with people outside the country is not built only on a passport, slogans, or emotional appeals. It is maintained through constant work: education, culture, family ties, understandable government services, economic opportunities, and the feeling that a person remains part of a common space.
That is why for readers of NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency, the topic of the Ukrainian “Dodomu” platform sounds not like a narrow administrative project, but as a question of the future model of relations between the state and millions of people who may physically live in Berlin, Warsaw, Prague, Tel Aviv, or Haifa, but still maintain a connection with Ukraine.
From return to connection: what Ukraine can learn from other countries
Ukraine is not the first country to face a mass exodus of citizens. But it is probably one of the first European countries of the 21st century forced to simultaneously wage war, rebuild the economy, carry out reforms, and think about the return of millions of people.
The experience of other countries shows: success depends not only on calls to “come home.” Much more important is the state’s ability to maintain a long and practical connection with its citizens abroad.
Ireland: diaspora as a resource, not a loss
Ireland lost its population for centuries due to emigration. After the Great Famine of the 19th century, millions of Irish people left for the USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK. At some point, there were more people of Irish descent outside the country than in Ireland itself.
But the state gradually stopped perceiving emigration only as a tragedy and a final loss. Ireland began to build a systematic policy of working with the diaspora, supporting communities abroad, and developing cultural and economic ties.
Today, the Irish diaspora remains an important source of investment, international contacts, and the country’s soft influence. For Ukraine, this example is important because people abroad can be not only a lost part of the population but also a continuation of national potential.
Poland: not everyone returned, but the connection was maintained
After Poland joined the European Union in 2004, the country experienced one of the largest waves of labor migration in modern Europe. Millions of Poles left to work in the UK, Germany, Ireland, and other countries.
Over time, the Polish state began to create conditions for return: simplifying procedures, developing the labor market, and maintaining contacts with communities abroad.
But the main lesson from Poland is not that everyone returned. That did not happen. Some Poles remained living abroad but continued to buy real estate in Poland, invest, open businesses, and maintain professional and family ties with their homeland.
For Ukraine, this may be an especially important conclusion. Not all Ukrainians will return immediately after the war ends. Some will remain in countries where children have already started school, adults have found work, and families have gained stability. Therefore, the task of the state is not only to physically return people but also not to lose them completely.
Israel: the most recognizable model of connection with the diaspora
For decades, Israel has built one of the most well-known systems of working with the diaspora. For the country, the connection with Jewish communities abroad has become not an additional direction but a part of state strategy.
It’s not just about repatriation. Israel developed educational programs, cultural exchanges, youth projects, community assistance, international contact networks, and a constant sense of belonging to a common space.
A person can live in New York, Paris, London, or Buenos Aires but maintain a connection with Israel through family, culture, language, education, business, and public life.
For Ukraine, the Israeli experience cannot be mechanically copied. History, identity, and circumstances are different. But the principle itself is important: the state must work with people abroad not occasionally, but constantly.
The Ukrainian challenge of the 21st century
The Ukrainian situation is different from all these examples.
Ireland experienced mass emigration for decades. Poland built a return policy already in peacetime and EU membership conditions. Lithuania tried to maintain a connection with citizens after economic emigration. Israel formed a system of interaction with the diaspora over generations.
Ukraine is doing this during a war.
It needs to simultaneously defend the country, rebuild what was destroyed, prepare for European integration, return veterans to civilian life, support displaced persons, launch new jobs, and not lose millions of citizens who now live abroad.
Therefore, the “Dodomu” platform may become not just a website with useful information. With proper development, it can become the first element of a new model of relations between Ukraine and Ukrainians worldwide.
But for this, one digital service is not enough. People need clear answers: where they can work, how to solve housing issues, what will happen with schools and healthcare, how to process documents, how to open a business, how to return without feeling that they are once again left alone with bureaucracy.
Another question is trust. After years of war, forced emigration, and adaptation in other countries, Ukrainians will make decisions not only with their hearts. They will consider risks, opportunities, safety, the future of their children, and income stability.
This is where the state will have to compete not with slogans, but with the quality of solutions.
Ukraine has already proven that it can fight for international aid, weapons, investments, and political support. Now it must show whether it is ready to fight just as persistently for its people.
Because the reconstruction of the country is not only about concrete, roads, energy, and billions of dollars.
It’s a question of who will live in Ukraine, work in Ukraine, raise children there, create businesses, return after forced departure, or at least remain part of the Ukrainian world from abroad.
And perhaps this will be the main meaning of the “Dodomu” platform. Not just to call people back, but to show them: Ukraine remembers them, speaks to them in a language they understand, and is ready to build the future together with them — wherever they are now.
What is currently known about the “Dodomu” platform
“Dodomu” is a digital platform of the Ministry of Social Policy, Family, and Unity of Ukraine for planning the return and reintegration of Ukrainians who are abroad. The concept of the platform was officially presented to representatives of more than 260 Ukrainian communities.
The main idea of the platform is to provide a person not with fragmented information, but with a clear route: what awaits them in Ukraine, what support is available, where they can live, work, educate children, and receive social and medical services. Minister Denys Ulyutin separately emphasized that the task of the state is not just to urge people to return at any cost, but to create conditions for voluntary, informed, and sustainable return.
What should be on the platform:
- housing and living opportunities in specific communities;
- work and employment;
- access to education for children;
- social services;
- medical assistance;
- information on support after return;
- profiles of Ukrainian communities so that a person sees not an abstract Ukraine, but a specific place where they can return.
For Ukrainian communities, this is also a tool. They will be able to showcase their potential, talk about jobs, services, infrastructure, support programs, and attract the attention of international partners. Thus, “Dodomu” is conceived not only as a service for people but also as a showcase of opportunities for regions of Ukraine.
The official presentation of the platform is scheduled for the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026, which will be held on June 25-26, 2026, in Gdansk, Poland.
The platform is being implemented as part of the project YOUA — “Shaping New Paths, Building Ukraine’s Future”. The project is carried out by GIZ on behalf of the German government in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Policy, Family, and Unity of Ukraine. The Association of Ukrainian Cities is also involved in the project. Currently, communities are being selected for piloting practical solutions to support people after their return.
The context of recovery is also important. According to the World Bank, the European Commission, the UN, and the government of Ukraine, Ukraine’s needs for recovery and reconstruction amount to almost 588 billion dollars over the next ten years. But without the return or at least maintaining a connection with people, this money does not solve the main question: who will work, build, heal, teach, create businesses, and develop communities.
