Ukraine Is Experiencing a Human Catastrophe

Demographic Collapse. While Ukraine’s economy has long since lost the physical ability to reproduce its population’s existence, the country is suffering one of the greatest demographic collapses in the world, which actually began well before the current conflict. Some shocking statistics are provided in an Aug. 20 article for the media network Al Mayadeen English, entitled “Living Conditions in Ukraine Are Resembling a New Slavery, a Triumph of Western ‘Democracy’ in the 21st Century”.

According to this report, when Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the country had a population of 52 million. In February 2022, before Russia’s special military operation, that number had tumbled to 37.6 million, a decline of 14.4 million people, or nearly 27%. Today, according to the estimates of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, only 29 million people live in Ukraine, a contraction of eight million since the war began, as many women and children as well as old people left the country. Overall, the population has contracted by 43% since 1991.

The Institute points out that the average fertility rate for Ukraine is 0.7 children for women in child-bearing age (from 15 to 44 years old). For a society to reproduce itself, that figure would have to be 2.1 children. Thus, Ukraine’s fertility rate is a catastrophe, one of the worst in the world. The number of young men being slaughtered in a war that cannot be won militarily worsens the problem.

The state of the economy is likewise catastrophic. And the fact that the Zelenskyy government has appointed BlackRock and JP Morgan Chase, two notorious profiteers of the bankrupt financial system of Wall Street and City of London, to coordinate all reconstruction efforts, indicates that the looting will continue.

Thousands Paying to Avoid the Draft. The Financial Times reported Aug. 13 that it has come to light that thousands of Ukrainian men have paid upwards of $10,000 in bribes to corrupt officials to avoid being drafted into the war. According to the City of London daily, “Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 have been banned from leaving the country ever since martial law was introduced in February 2022. Exemptions exist, however, for medical reasons, study abroad, being a single father, having more than three children or caring for a disabled person.”

It noted that the cost of bribes differs across Ukraine, with many “asked to pay $6,000 for a medical certificate granting them an exemption from military service. The investigation was prompted by corruption charges brought against the head of the Odesa regional recruitment center in July. Yevhen Borysov was charged with taking more than $5 million worth of bribes to approve exemptions.

“Depending on his cut of bribes that varied between $2,000 and $10,000 per person, Borysov helped hundreds and possibly thousands of men avoid being drafted.”

In addition, the FT reported that “a total of 13,600 Ukrainian men have reportedly been caught trying to cross into neighboring countries outside the official checkpoints, while 6,100 more have been arrested as they attempted to use fake documents at regular border crossings, according to Ukrainian border guard spokesperson Andriy Demchenko.” It is impossible to estimate the number of men who have escaped undetected.