“…The war and the occupation of Kherson hit especially hard the most vulnerable sections of the Roma population. For example, in one of the Roma communities before the war, the main way to earn money was to work in the fields. They harvested, peeled onions, and so on. For a day of work, they could earn about 400-500 hryvnia, which was enough for them for several days. And then they had to go back to the field. Now these people are left without any income. Many Roma come to our and neighboring cities – basically, these are people from territories where active hostilities took place. They lost their homes and all their property. I am aware of cases of looting of Roma houses by Russian soldiers in neighboring villages. They took out all the valuable things they found: carpets, appliances, and so on. And in one yard they even removed the gate. It’s hard for me to i magine why they needed them, perhaps to create some fortifications. Mostly they robbed abandoned houses, but also those where the inhabitants remained. Cars were often taken away from them. One of the local Roma even said that he had prepared for this, and that “Kadyrovtsy” could not take his car, because he had disabled it in advance and it simply would not start. But most are far less fortunate. The same man told me that many simply fled their villages on foot to save their lives.” To the [Russian] accusation of Ukraine of Nazism, David replies that problems with violence by radical groups cannot be hushed up and law enforcement agencies should investigate such cases. But a similar problem exists both in European countries and in Russia itself — killings of Roma by skinheads, violence on the part of law enforcement agencies (for example, in the Roma settlement of Plekhanovo in the Tula Region), unhindered broadcasting of xenophobic films about Roma on Russian federal channels. Because of the news about the enforced disappearances of journalists, activists, deputies, neighbors, David does not feel safe: “… I have learned to appreciate what I have. For example, I used to be able to go to my brothers and return home at midnight. Then it was not something special. Now the curfew starts at six, and there is nowhere to go, because most of my family members have left.”” Stateless people Number of stateless people in Ukraine European Network on Statelessness, Briefing: Update on access to protection for stateless refugees from Ukraine, 28 April 2022 “Most people affected by statelessness residing in Ukraine are stateless ‘in their own country’ and - due to their statelessness - are unable to prove their links to Ukraine or any other country through documentation. Estimates for the size of the stateless population vary significantly. In 2021, UNHCR reported 35,875 people who were stateless or had ‘undetermined nationality’, only 6,047 of whom were recorded as legally residing in Ukraine. Many tens of thousands more are thought to be at risk of statelessness including 10-20% of the Roma population and 55% of children born in nongovernmentcontrolled areas (NGCA) and Crimea since 2014. According to the World Bank, 999,000 people over 15 years-old reside in Ukraine without a national ID card. Although not all will be stateless, most will be unable to prove their Ukrainian citizenship through documentation and may be at increased risk of statelessness. Ukraine introduced a statelessness determination procedure in 2021 to determine who is stateless on its territory and grant them protection. By the end of 2021, only 55 people had been granted a temporary residence permit through this procedure; and more than 800 had applied and been documented with a certificate of application confirming legal stay. […] Populations affected by statelessness in Ukraine include: • Romani people who lack civil documentation to acquire/confirm their Ukrainian nationality • Former citizens of the USSR who were unable to acquire Ukrainian nationality in 1991 and have remained stateless due to lack of access to legal aid and other factors • People from non-Government-controlled areas and Crimea and those internally displaced who 61