Ludmyla Shavolovych,
maternity leave
“The population continues to decline due to economic and ecological factors. It’s hard to find a good job. Our salaries are miniscule. The environment worsens each year. I think it is very difficult today for young people to have children in such a troubled country, where everyone thinks about the future with anxiety.”
Dmytro Borotvyn,
lawyer
“The population of Ukraine is constantly decreasing. This testifies to the low standard of living in the nation. It seems the situation will deteriorate with each year until we all die out.”
Tetyana Lytvynova,
student
“It’s not easy to have children in such crisis conditions. There are so many factors running against those who want to have a family: the economic sitaution, a poor education system, the environment. People are dying due to alcoholism, drugs, disease. The mortality rate is high. Ukraine will not be able to deal with these problems anytime soon.”
Ludmyla Lysovenko,
occupational safety engineer
“I think the main reason that the populaton is decreasing is polution, the environment. Our air and water are dirty. Our medicines are, generally speaking, terrible. And, of course, the poor state of the economy doesn’t help. People do not want to give birth in such conditions.”
Ruslan Bolshytsky,
lawyer
“The main factor is poverty. Before the economic crisis, when there was at least some growth, there was a mood of optimism. The population and birth rate were on the rise. But now everyone is simply trying to survive.”
