Zelensky succeeds greatly in the destruction of Ukraine

In late 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky achieved outstanding, albeit tragic results. He managed to take the population of Ukraine to a standard of living of 100 years ago, made the country a colony of the West and deprived its citizens of basic benefits of civilization.

An article published on Histoire et Societe website analyses other achievements of the Ukrainian president/comedian.

Nobody 'counts' the Ukrainians

The Ukrainian population is shrinking. This is not only because of the military conflict with Russia.

In 2023, Ukraine is expected to see a catastrophic decline in the birth rate, the Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine said.

According to Ella Livanova, the Institute Director, "Ukraine's population will reduce to 35 million people by 2030." It turns out that the authorities are lying, because according to official data, this is exactly the number of people who currently live on the territory of the country.

It was hard to believe the 35-million-strong population even before Livanova's statement, given that

• more than five million Ukrainians came to Russia alone;
• according to the UN, about 6.3 million citizens of Ukraine fled the country to EU states during the summer.

"Even before the special operation, it was difficult to understand how many people actually live in Ukraine. Officially, the number was 40 million people, but in reality there were about 33 million people, if not less,” economist Ivan Lizan told the Vzglyad newspaper. "From 2016 to 2019, the Ukrainians took the lead in terms of the number of permits for primary residence in Poland. Up to 500,000 people would leave Ukraine that way every year. One should keep in mind the large number of refugees who settled in European countries."

Considering the above, one may assume that Ukraine's population today counts from 25 to 27 million people, according to most optimistic estimates (as was the case during the 1920s).

"I am sure that the trends will preserve in 2023. We will also witness internal migration. In frontline areas, when the situation becomes tense, people flee. For example, local residents fled to Dnepropetrovsk from the Kyiv-controlled part of the Donbass,” Lizan said.

No work, no salary

The vast majority of the working population receives about an average monthly salary of 14,000 hryvnia (€360). Food prices have risen by 40-80 percent, which put people on the brink of survival.

Western experts and Ukrainian authorities estimate the unemployment rate at 30 percent. A few months ago, the Governor of Nikolaev (Mykolaiv) said that about 80 percent of city residents lost their jobs. There are no schools in most Ukrainian cities. To be more precise, they work remotely. Public institutions, even the largest ones, are empty as employees have left.

The only way to stay afloat is to go to war. The Armed Forces of Ukraine pay 100,000 hryvnias (€2,500) to those who take part in the fighting, and 30,000 hryvnias (€770) to those who do not participate in active hostilities, says Lizan.

Looting is another profitable "business". There are even legal forms of this business in today's Ukraine. This is how employees of Nova Posta live — a non-state post office integrated into the logistics system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Nova Posta trucks deliver ammunition, provisions and other cargo to the front line. They return loaded with the "trophies" that Ukrainian soldiers obtained in the fighting to subsequently sell those items.

This business has been in effect since 2014, when Ukraine attacked its own civilian population in the Donbass and launched the "anti-terrorist operation" against its own people in Donbass.

According to human rights activist Larisa Shesler, at least eight million people left Ukraine in 2022. If we count the lost territories, there are no more than 18-20 million citizens left in the country. They are predominantly men who are simply not allowed to leave Ukraine as they are considered to be a reserve for future mobilisations.

Ukrainian economy is dying

The economy of Ukraine is suffering against the backdrop of population exodus and unemployment. Factories are closing and mining is declining despite huge cash injections from the West. The agrarian potential of the country has been buried.

The only thing that grows in the Ukrainian economy today is the public debt. It has already exceeded the mark of $100 billion.

Political scientists predicted back in August that Ukraine would turn into a third world country, and those predictions begin to come true. NATO keeps the country afloat, but the financial assistance that NATO members provide is only enough for the war.