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War disrupts personal lives and long-term plans
Kyiv resident Daria, 34, scrolls through a dating app on a Saturday evening but puts her phone away without hope. She hasn't been on a proper date since before Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. For many Ukrainians, the conflict has upended decisions about love, marriage, and parenthood, with lasting consequences for the country's future.
Fewer men, fewer marriages
Millions of Ukrainian women have relocated abroad since 2022, while hundreds of thousands of men are either deployed in the military or living outside the country. Those who remain face stark choices. Khrystyna, 28, from Lviv, notes the scarcity of available men, many of whom avoid public spaces to evade conscription squads. Soldiers, she adds, often return traumatized, making relationships difficult.
Daria describes three unappealing options: men evading conscription, soldiers in unstable long-distance relationships, or younger men who could leave the country at any time. None offer the stability she seeks.
Frontline soldiers delay commitments
Near the front lines, active-duty soldiers like Ruslan, stationed in Kharkiv, question what they can realistically offer a partner. "Beyond occasional visits and phone calls, what can I promise?" he asks. Denys, a 31-year-old drone operator, echoes this uncertainty: "Every day brings the risk of death or injury. Long-term plans feel irresponsible."
Demographic decline accelerates
The war has sharply reduced marriages-from 223,000 in 2022 to 150,000 in 2024-and birth rates, which now stand at 0.9 children per woman, far below the 2.1 needed to maintain the population. Oleksandr Hladun, a demographer at Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences, calls these trends a "social catastrophe."
Ukraine's population has already shrunk from 52 million in 1992 to 41 million in 2022. Projections suggest it could fall to 25.2 million by 2051 if current trends persist. Hladun warns that prolonged conflict erodes the post-war "compensatory effect," where couples typically have children after hostilities end.
Fertility struggles amid uncertainty
Olena, 33, a policewoman and military instructor, is freezing her eggs due to health issues and the war's disruption. "During the first year, everything stopped-building a home, planning children," she recalls. Even in relatively safe Lviv, the war's shadow lingers. For Olena, having a child now feels like a duty to Ukraine's future.
Dr. Liubov Mykhailyshyn, a fertility specialist, worries about the long-term impact of stress and trauma on reproductive health. "We're waiting for the demographic crisis," she says, nodding to the broader challenges ahead.
Government efforts fall short
Ukraine has introduced policies like affordable childcare and housing, but Hladun notes these rely on local funding, limiting their reach. Without safety guarantees, many families hesitate to have children. A lasting solution may depend on the return of the 6.5 million Ukrainians living abroad-but only if the war ends decisively.
Hladun argues that Ukraine's population decline is a security threat, given Russia's larger demographic resources. "The longer the war lasts, the harder recovery becomes," he says.
Uncertainty as the new normal
Daria reflects on the fragility of planning a future. "This uncertainty is painful, but it's part of everyday life now," she says. "I've accepted I might stay alone-not by choice, but because war reshapes what's possible."
"Learning to live with that is, in itself, a form of survival."
