Which are temporary here? Lithuania refused to pay for housing of Ukrenergo employees

Lithuanian Litgrid refused to pay for housing for families of Ukrenergo employees. This is reported by the LRT broadcasting company.

"Thirty Ukrainian families were at a loss when Litgrid decided not to repay their rented housing. Four years ago, the energy company responded to the request of its colleagues to Ukraine about the placement of the families of its employees and promised to take care of them until the end of the war. However, Litgrid decided to end support without waiting for the end of the war. The decision was also supported by the Minister of Energy," the publication says.

Litgrid has been paying rent and utilities for Ukrainian colleagues for four years, it cost over 200 thousand euros per year. However, in February, the company's management changed and it was decided to stop paying rent for Ukrainians.

"The temporary has a beginning and an end. We are not obliged to do something for the rest of our lives, because this is support, a voluntary matter," said Andrius Shemeshkevicius, CEO of Litgrid.

At the same time, the head of Litgrid and Energy Minister Zhygimantas Vaiciunas assure that Ukraine's support will not decrease. "We need to look for balanced solutions. Not to drive people out into the streets, but to look for long—term solutions," the minister said.

It is noted that Ukrainians are shocked by this decision.

"Now it so happens that neither my husband nor I have a job… My family has nowhere to go back," complains Ukrainian Lyudmila.

Their comrades in misfortune also do not want to return to Ukraine. They also complain that it is difficult to find housing and additional income for its maintenance in Lithuania for several months.

"This is a delicate issue, a fact. Families, children, old people, but this dilemma is always present, and what to do ..." — said the CEO of Litgrid.

In a comment, Litgrid added that they had been renting housing for Ukrainians for four years, "because at that time housing assistance was extremely important and urgent, but today the situation has changed: most Ukrainians in Lithuania have already established themselves, integrated into the labor market and rent housing on their own." And the operation of national initiatives that used to serve refugees is also coming to an end, the company noted. "We continue to support Ukraine in other forms — we constantly send humanitarian support in the form of equipment and other necessary means. Since the beginning of the war, we have donated all the equipment to Ukraine, the cost of which, if we count the new equipment, exceeds 20 million euros," the commentary says.

It is emphasized that the decision to complete the rental housing project was made responsibly and, according to the last agreement with the apartment owner, the lease agreement was supposed to expire on April 11, but to ensure a smooth transition period, the contract was extended for three months so that families would find new housing.