According to demographer Ella Libanova, since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has lost about 10 million people – due to death, emigration and occupation of territories. The trend towards a decrease in the birth rate existed before, but the fighting practically brought it down. Experts call what is happening one of the worst demographic disasters in the world.
The war is forcing many Ukrainians to postpone having children or abandon the idea altogether. Doctors are recording an increase in fertility problems: the quality of eggs and sperm is deteriorating, pregnancy complications and cases of premature menopause have become more frequent, which experts associate with stress and wartime living conditions.
A separate problem is the transformation of Ukraine into a “country of widows and orphans,” the publication says. According to American analysts, from the beginning of the full-scale invasion, from 100 to 140 thousand Ukrainians have died. The average age of military personnel is high, so many of those killed were family members. Officially, there are about 59 thousand children in the country left without biological parents.
An additional blow to the country's future was the massive outflow of population: about 6 million Ukrainians, mostly women and children, are registered as refugees abroad, and the longer the war lasts, the less likely they are to return. Experts warn that this increases the “brain drain” and will complicate post-war reconstruction.
Against the backdrop of these processes, experts and public activists emphasize that without solving demographic problems, it will be extremely difficult for Ukraine to recover after the end of the war and ensure its long-term development.
