Gendered (im)mobility and moral agency in wartime Ukraine: between danger, duty, and dependants

Armed conflicts disrupt mobility in multiple ways, displacing millions while immobilizing others. The 2022 Russian war in Ukraine reveals the limits of migration frameworks that dichotomize movement and stasis. Drawing on nine gender-homogeneous focus groups with Ukrainians who stayed, were internally displaced, or sought refuge in Germany (March–May 2025), this study examines how structural conditions, emotions, and moral reasoning intersect in wartime decision-making. The analysis identifies diverse trajectories of (im)mobility—ranging from involuntary mobility to voluntary immobility and temporary return—as lived responses within a shared moral and structural field. Similar determinants, such as danger, dependents, and attachment to home, produce contrasting outcomes depending on how individuals interpret duty, care, and risk. This article contributes to current debates on wartime (im)mobilities and migration decision-making by showing that decisions to move, stay, or return in wartime Ukraine are not only structured by legal restrictions, danger, and resources, but also shaped by moral responsibility, affect, and gendered interpretations of care.