Andriy Sadovyi spoke out against the mass influx of migrants coming to work in Ukraine
24 May 21:15
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi stated that he does not support the large-scale recruitment of migrant workers to address the labor shortage in Ukraine. In his view, the labor shortage should be addressed by raising wages and encouraging Ukrainians who have moved abroad to return. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian", citing zaxid.net.
According to Sadovyi, there is no influx of migrant workers in Lviv, and the city is more interested in attracting foreign companies that create jobs for Ukrainians.
“I am more in favor of attracting well-known, powerful companies that come and start operating legitimately,” said the mayor, citing Onur Group—which has been operating in Lviv for over 20 years—as an example.
At the same time, he spoke out against the mass importation of workers from other countries.
“I am not in favor of bringing people here by the dozens or hundreds. What if they don’t leave afterward? They have completely different religious views and a different mindset,” Sadovyi stated.
The mayor is convinced that some Ukrainians can be brought back from abroad if they are provided with decent wages.
“Many people left not only because of the war. They left because wages are much higher there. And we are capable of bringing such people back,” he said.
Sadovyi also raised the issue of men who, out of fear of mobilization, are not working and rarely leave their homes. In his opinion, the state could consider a mechanism for temporary deferment for workers in critically important industries.
“Perhaps we should think about some kind of deferment mechanism? For example, so that a person is guaranteed six months of work in production and then goes to serve,” noted the mayor of Lviv.
At the same time, he emphasized that he does not support the idea of bringing in workers “from Africa or other regions” as a way to address the labor shortage.
As a reminder, there has been increasing talk in Ukraine recently about labor shortages and the need to attract migrant workers. In particular, in April 2026, the head of the Presidential Office, Kirill Budanov, stated that Ukraine is preparing to revise the list of “migration risk” countries, which could partially simplify the conditions for entry and employment of foreigners amid the labor shortage.
The shortage of workers was also highlighted in the Verkhovna Rada. In particular, in October 2025, Olena Shulyak, chair of the parliamentary committee on urban development, reported that the labor shortage in the construction sector stands at 30% and that developers are proposing to bring in foreign workers. According to her, the industry currently lacks workers in various specialties and skill levels.
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