The Crisis in Ukraine Brings Threats and Opportunities for Identity

Since the invasion of Ukraine started on 24 February, over 700,000 Ukrainian refugees have exercised their right to obtain a Polish national identity (PESEL) number, which gives them access to various public services and benefits.

The government estimates that a total of almost two million refugees from Ukraine are currently in Poland. It also plans to extend financial support paid to households that are hosting refugees, estimating that around 600,000 Ukrainians are benefiting from the programme.

The demographics of the flow of people out of Ukraine is at odds with other refugee flows we have seen in recent years. Firstly, whereas many conflicts initiate movement of people from south to north, this war is causing net movement from east to west.

But more strikingly, and potentially more injurious to the sovereign identity of Ukraine, is that among the 700,000+ refugees from Ukraine who have registered for a national ID number in Poland so far: 49.3% are children – 44.4% are women aged 18-65 – 3.4% are men aged 18-65 and the remaining 3.2% are people aged 65+.

This means that over 94% of the refugees are women and children.

The first thing that comes to my mind on reading these statistics, after the feeling of sadness for the turmoil these unfortunate people are living through, is just how quickly these figures are being assembled to give an almost live picture of the demographics at play. Of course, it’s too early to predict with any certainty the long-term effect this flow of refugees will have on the makeup of Ukraine’s national identity – or for that matter Poland’s – but, it seems, any policy decisions by the respective governments will have sound identity statistics on which to base their deliberations.

In Ukraine itself, delivery of the government’s programme of financial assistance packages to help people who have been forced to leave their homes because of the Russian invasion will be through the Ukrainian government’s Diia (which in Ukrainian means ‘action’) platform. This is a smartphone app launched in 2020 which acts as a one-stop shop for public services and a wallet for digital versions of official documents: digital passports and driving licences stored in the app have the same legal status as their paper originals.

Diia was already being used by more than 13 million people (around a third of the population) by the end of 2021.

Importantly, in the context of the Russian invasion and the large numbers of internally displaced people, Ukrainians can also use the app to change their registered address.

A simplified war-time digital ID has also been created, available to all Diia users and recognised by local law enforcement. Ukraine has also secured agreements with neighbouring countries to accept the digital ID in lieu of paper documents – invaluable for refugees who might have been unable to gather paper documents during hurried evacuations.

Before the war, the app’s functionality revolved around its use as an official, government-recognised ID, and its capability of allowing users to access digital government services, such as paying traffic fines or obtaining COVID-19 vaccination certificates. Since the Russian assault began, the app has been updated to help Ukrainians adjust to the disruptions of the war.

For many government officials around the world, these capabilities may prove to be eye-opening examples of the power of digital ID and mobile ID technology – vivid illustrations of how the flexibility of the tech can be used to maintain government services and help citizens during a time of crisis.

But the app goes even further by offering militarised capabilities. Ukrainians can now upload location-tagged photos of Russian targets through Diia, and can submit tips about potential saboteurs, with the data being fed to Ukrainian military intelligence. Users can also make donations to the country’s military through the app.

The ID and secure document industry is in a period of transition from the physical to digital and ultimately to virtual. The transition has, to a large extent, been a smooth one pulled through by the benefits of convenience it gives to people as both consumers and citizens.

But, increasingly, high impact events such as geopolitical realignments (eg. Brexit), public health crises (pandemics) and now the conflict in Ukraine are throwing up unexpected benefits generated by the flexibility derived from digital identity.