T., a Ukrainian national from the Donetsk Oblast, had applied for international protection in France. His application was rejected by OFPRA in November 2021. M. appealed this decision, claiming that if he were to return to Ukraine, he would be subjected to serious harm from separatist supporters from the Donbas region, due to his collaboration with Ukrainian intelligence services.

The National Court of Asylum concluded that the applicant’s declarations did not allow to establish the facts that motivated him to leave Ukraine, nor that he would be targeted in case of his return. However, the court also noted that T.’s application for international protection should also be examined in light of the current situation in the Donetsk Oblast.

The court further specified that that the security situation in Ukraine could be characterised by a significant level of violence, which differed in degree from region to region in terms of intensity and impact on the civilian population. For this reason, the court stated that the mere invocation of Ukrainian nationality was not sufficient, by itself, to establish the merits of an application for international protection. In this regard, the court observed that the Donetsk and Luhansk regions appeared among the most impacted areas by the military aggression, with significant damage observed in residential areas. The court, citing data published by various organisations (UNHCR, IOM, OCHA, ACLED, Human Rights Watch, HRMMU) noted that 55% of all civilian victims were registered in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts by November 2022, and that 23% of all internally displaced persons originated from the Donetsk region.

The court concluded that the security situation in the Donetsk Oblast could be considered as one of indiscriminate violence of exceptional intensity, thus T.’s mere presence there would put him at real risk of serious harm if returned. The court granted him subsidiary protection.