Photo by Maksym Pozniak-Haraburda on Unsplash
A worrying new study says that many Ukrainians, including Roma, have chosen to stay in their often damaged homes as a way of holding the ground and keeping their communities alive.
According to the World Bank, 13% of Ukraine’s housing has been damaged or destroyed in the war, affecting over 2.5 million households.
Despite huge challenges, Ukrainians are also actively engaged in reconstructing their homes and communities, says the report by the Roma Foundation for Europe.
However, it goes on say that one of the most vulnerable communities in Ukraine is unable to access property damage compensation.
Only 4 per cent of Roma households surveyed have successfully secured compensation for war damage, despite suffering widespread destruction, it says.
It reveals that requirements like official property documents, digital literacy, and proof of ownership disproportionately exclude people whose lives were already precarious long before the war began.
The analysis, based on cases across four Ukrainian regions, including Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih, Odessa and Kharkiv, argues that deeply entrenched legal, administrative, and digital hurdles are blocking Roma communities from accessing aid intended for rebuilding homes and lives.
Zeljko Jovanovic, President of the Roma Foundation for Europe, told this site: “In a country under constant attack, recovery must reach everyone who has endured loss, not just those with perfect paperwork.”
“These 103 cases in our survey demonstrate how current systems, although designed for order and efficiency, often overlook those with fewer resources but no less damage. If Ukraine’s recovery is to be as strong as its resistance, support must reflect the realities on the ground.”
“The current system lacks the required flexibility for the complex realities of pre-war informality of homes, displacement, and occupation. Many affected families cannot afford the property registration fees or the costs associated with inheritance procedures. The average damage of € 2,816 represents several months of pre-war salary,” he added.
In regions like Odesa, more than half (54%) of Roma families reportedly lack formal property registration, while in Kryvyi Rih, not a single claim from the surveyed households has been submitted to the state registry due to legal limbo over inheritance, missing paperwork, and lack of resources to navigate the system.
Even in Zaporizhzhia, where property records are strongest, low application rates point to deep mistrust in institutions, amplified by experiences of discrimination.
“I was watching TV when I heard a terrible whistling sound, followed by an extremely loud explosion. I thought the ceiling would collapse on my head along with the chandelier,” said a 36-year-old Mykhailo from Zaporizhzhia, whose property was damaged during the bombings.
“We have a basement, but it’s not suitable as a shelter; there’s a high risk of being buried alive.”
His home, which he inherited from his grandfather and has been his primary residence since 1991, now has a visible crack in the structure. Four windows were shattered, a non-residential annexe was damaged, and the slate roofing was partially torn off, causing the ceiling to begin leaking.
Asked why he hasn’t applied for compensation, he replied: “I don’t want to deal with the state because I believe that after the war, the government might demand the money back.”
Beyond property document gaps, the report shows how reliance on Ukraine’s digital Diia platform makes compensation virtually inaccessible for elderly Roma and other digitally excluded groups. Meanwhile, residents of occupied or active conflict zones are outright barred from filing damage claims, leaving families with legitimate losses without recourse.
The report estimates over €260,000 in legitimate damage claims remain unpaid within the small sample studied.
This is a stark indicator of the wider systemic gaps that risk compounding social exclusion as Ukraine rebuilds.
The Roma Foundation for Europe is now urging Ukraine’s government and international partners to integrate urgent reforms into reconstruction planning, including accepting alternative proof of ownership such as utility bills or community testimony, waiving registration fees for war-affected families, and introducing temporary ownership certificates to ensure displaced or undocumented Roma have access to compensation.
“Even if full compensation isn’t possible now, temporary support is essential. It is also the only way for the government to fully understand what has been lost and what must be rebuilt. Roma living in damaged homes are part of Ukraine’s strength and its resistance,” Jovanovich concluded.
