![]() ![]() ![]() In focus groups in eastern Ukraine over the last several years, Perelli-Harris found that in addition to feeling uprooted and unsafe, families talked about increasing political and social uncertainty, concerns over rising utility prices and other household expenses, and how expensive it was to have children. By 2021, that number had basically been cut in half, according to Ukrainian Health Ministry statistics. In 2013, there were 494,521 babies born in Ukraine. She has researched the impact of Russia's incursion in Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014, which led to an even greater threat to fertility: violent conflict and a lack of security. "The real question was between having a second or even a third child," says Perelli-Harris. Instead, it was far more common for Ukrainians to have only one child. ![]() "So you hope it will be better, but you pray that it wouldn't be worse." "You kind of pray that tomorrow will not be worse than today," says his father, Mykyta Sitnov. Even before last year's invasion, the United Nations predicted Ukraine would lose a fifth of its population by 2050. Add to that high rates of emigration and mortality - including untold war casualties - and it's leading to dramatic population decline. Since the early 1990s, Ukrainians have been having fewer and fewer children​​. Important personal decisions like this across the country have contributed to a long-running trend. And she wonders, how can you do that right now in Ukraine? "You should give birth when you can provide your child with everything they need," Oleksienko says. The war has only cemented that decision, with security, economics and political stability all playing a factor. "We talked about it many times," says 31-year-old Oleksienko, "and we always saw ourselves as being child-free in our future." Yuliia Oleksienko says she and her husband Oleksandr made that decision long before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. KYIV, Ukraine - They never wanted children. An empty baby cart in a maternity hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine. ![]()
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