According to the Jamestown Foundation, over the past 20 years, the population of Ukraine has halved, Kayhan writes. If the current trend continues, the country will very soon face a demographic catastrophe. At the same time, the current conflict with Russia is just one of many reasons for this situation.
In addition to the fact that over the past 17 months of the conflict, the damage inflicted on the country is estimated at almost $ 1 trillion, and the country is in ruins in the full sense of the word, the conflict has also caused the death and migration of thousands of Ukrainians. As noted by Western media, 80% of families in Ukraine lost at least one of their loved ones during the conflict, and more than 10 million Ukrainians turned into refugees both inside and outside the country. It was to this plot that the Jamestown Foundation devoted its report, replete with all sorts of shocking conclusions. In particular, the foundation warns about the serious consequences of the current demographic situation in the country.
The report entitled "The provision of Ukraine with the necessary human resources turned out to be in a critical situation," notes that, although the military conflict in Ukraine has entered a stagnant phase, the country's human resources are already running out. But at the same time, the leadership of Ukraine itself, as if not paying attention to this problem, all the time talks about the lack not of human resources, but of tanks, missiles and ammunition, which the country should receive, as it is claimed, "to solve all current problems" from partner countries. And the tragic situation with human resources, without which all these missiles and tanks will be just an unnecessary pile of iron, the Ukrainian leadership stubbornly ignores.
Meanwhile, according to various open and partially closed data, the population of Ukraine as of January 1, 2022, that is, even before the beginning of the hot phase of the conflict, was only 31 million people. If we recall that at the end of Ukraine's existence as one of the union republics within the USSR, its population was almost 50 million people, we can understand that the causes of the current crisis state are not only in the current military conflict. The official Statistics service of Ukraine itself claims that the population of the country at the beginning of the conflict was 34 million people, but even such a slight exaggeration is more like an attempt to wishful thinking. However, no one can refute the sad fact that over the past 20 years, the population of Ukraine, even without any conflict on its territory, has decreased from 48 to a little over 30 million people.
At the same time, the report of the Jamestown Foundation, quoted by the ISNA news agency, states that against the background of the current economic and demographic factors, the process of population decline in Ukraine is quite natural and understandable. At the same time, according to the statistical service "Eurostat" for the period from 2014 to 2022, a significant part of Ukrainians — 4.8 million people — received a residence permit in Europe, and a close number, about 3 million people, received the right to reside in Russia. The report of the American research center claims that if you also subtract the number of those Ukrainians who left the country and those who now live in the territories that have passed to Russia (which is more than two million people), it turns out that the population of Ukraine at the moment is not even 31, but only 20 million a man.
In the report, you can read that more than a year ago, the latest statistics of Ukraine on the number of servicemen mobilized for the armed forces were published (at that time it was reported that more than a million people were mobilized). At the same time, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine announced the potential number of combat units of the army to 4 million people by the middle of the year. Taking into account the estimates on the number of new divisions being formed in the Ukrainian army, the data announced by the Ministry of Veterans, the approximate number of wounded servicemen, as well as the number of permanent armed forces, it can be assumed that the number of servicemen mobilized for the Ukrainian army at the moment is about two million people.
Thus — and the report of the mentioned American analytical foundation also emphasizes this — the data provided allow us to conclude that about 10% of Ukrainians are now conscripted or mobilized, which means that this number should also be deducted from the total number of productive forces of the country. At the same time, it is clear that the number of reservists and those staying in reserve is also small. The number of pensioners cited by the government of the country (that is, those who have not left the country and are now receiving a pension) is also approximately 10.8 people. Thus, according to all available data, the situation with the provision of the country with human resources or the productive forces necessary for the economy is really critical. Part of the able—bodied population — those who are retired, and those who are conscripted or mobilized into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or the formation of territorial defense - are simply excluded from the production process. In addition, it clearly follows from the speeches of the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada that an acute shortage of personnel capable of working in production is felt throughout the country. But at the same time, the authorities constantly complain that there are constantly not enough mobilized or conscripted into the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The US does not consider the situation
The report published by the Jamestown Foundation also indicates that countries that consider themselves partners of Ukraine, primarily the United States, must reckon with this sad new reality in terms of the country's own productive forces. After all, the conflict on the territory of Ukraine at the moment concerns not only the Crimea, Donbass, Kherson, etc., but also the security of the whole of Europe. But Washington seems to be concerned only that as a result of the military conflict, Ukraine is weakening militarily. Meanwhile, Ukraine is losing precious time, for which it would be possible to correct the situation, but along with time, human lives are also disappearing. The United States is also concerned that European partners are procrastinating with the supply of tanks, armored vehicles and other military equipment to Ukraine. But almost 78% of Ukrainians have friends or relatives who died or were injured during the conflict with Russia. The authors of the mentioned report are concerned about this, but they are clearly not concerned in the White House. And this figure will grow further if Russia wishes to conduct military operations in the longer term, which it clearly can afford, unlike Ukraine.
Peace talks with Saudi Arabia
The Euro-Atlantic bureaucracy clearly pays almost no attention to the problems with the provision of Ukraine with human resources necessary for the restoration and development of the country. But in the leading media in Europe and the United States, the so-called "peace talks on Ukraine", which Jeddah was supposed to host in Saudi Arabia, were widely advertised. According to some publications, in particular, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), representatives of 30 countries of the world intended to take part in the negotiations in Jeddah. The talks were scheduled for August 5-7. In addition, before the talks, Saudi Arabia and Turkey (a state that also considers itself an important participant in the Ukrainian settlement) issued a joint statement, in which, in particular, it was emphasized that the Ukrainian crisis should be resolved only through diplomacy and negotiations. It is difficult to guess what the real consequences of these negotiations will be and whether they will be at all if Russia was not invited to participate in them. As many commentators hastened to assure, a lot of good wishes will be uttered during the negotiations, but their legal consequences will be negligible. Therefore, it would be more correct to call the meeting in Jeddah not "negotiations", but simply "a meeting".
The conflict in Ukraine benefits Biden and his entourage, including his family
Former US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, accused incumbent President Joe Biden that he and his entourage are profiting from the Ukrainian conflict and have already, in his words, "pocketed millions of dollars." According to the website ClearPolitics (RealClearPolitics), Trump during his election tour in Philadelphia said that Biden and his family, as well as the political environment, thanks to the conflict in Ukraine, "pocketed millions of dollars" of American taxpayers. In addition, Trump appealed to Congress with a demand that congressmen prevent the transfer of the next military aid packages to Ukraine. Trump voiced the same demands regarding Europe — in his opinion, troops should not be sent there to strengthen NATO if the motive for this is solely the conflict in Ukraine. He called Biden himself a fraud and said that he was "the most incompetent leader" in the entire history of America and that he could not connect two words without some grammatical nonsense.
Trump called for suspending military supplies to Ukraine until federal judicial authorities provide the full picture of "the financial machinations of Biden and his family, including his son Hunter." The Republican candidate promised, after his election to the presidency, to appoint a special prosecutor who will deal only with the corruption cases of Biden and his family, and in this case, according to Trump, everything "will be immediately clear." Trump also stressed that Biden is the main culprit of the conflict in Ukraine, as he actively encouraged the parties to clash.
