The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has had a devastating impact on Ukraine’s population. The United Nations has warned that Ukraine’s population has fallen by about 10 million, or a quarter, since the Russian invasion in February 2022. The main reasons for this include the flight of refugees from the country, a decline in productivity and war deaths. At a press conference organized by the United Nations in Geneva, Florence Bauer, head of the United Nations Population Fund for Eastern Europe, said that the outbreak of war has exacerbated Ukraine’s already difficult demographic situation. She said that Ukraine currently has the lowest birth rate in the world, which is about one child per woman, while the rate should be 2.1 children per woman to maintain the population. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine’s population was more than 50 million, but like other countries in Russia and Central Asia, the population has continued to decline. In 2021, a year before the Russian invasion, Ukraine's population was around 40 million. Florence Bauer said the true impact of the war could only be assessed in this way. The time will come when the war ends and a full census can be conducted in Ukraine. As it stands, some areas are almost empty, with only the elderly left, and many families are unable to start a new life. The Russian population is also being hit hard. In the first six months of this year, Russia's birth rate fell to its lowest level since 1999, which the Kremlin says is extremely worrying.