In Kyiv, people observed a moment of silence in front of the memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers. The United Nations reported today that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to a massive population exodus and a sharp decline in birth rates, with Ukraine’s population decreasing by 8 million to date. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, the total population of Ukraine is estimated to have fallen by 10 million.

According to a report by AFP, Florence Bauer, the director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, stated in a media release, “Overall, since 2014, Ukraine’s population has decreased by an estimated 10 million. Since the full-scale invasion by Russia in 2022, the population has decreased by an estimated 8 million.”

The UNFPA emphasized that data from Ukraine’s National Statistical Office indicates the population was approximately 45 million in 2014. That same year, Russia initiated its first invasion, subsequently occupying and annexing the Crimean Peninsula.

Furthermore, the UNFPA noted that based on a combination of its data and official government statistics, prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine’s population had already dropped to 43 million and has since plummeted to just 35 million.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces launched drone and artillery attacks today in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy Oblast and eastern Donetsk Oblast, resulting in five fatalities, including one child.

On the other hand, an official supported by Russian authorities indicated that Ukrainian drones attacked the city of Enerhodar in the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia region today, resulting in one death. Enerhodar is located near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.