In Kyiv, people observed a moment of silence in front of the memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers. The United Nations reported today that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to a significant population decline, with Ukraine losing around 8 million residents. Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the country’s population is estimated to have decreased by 10 million.

According to Florence Bauer, the Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), “Overall, since 2014, the estimated population of Ukraine has decreased by 10 million. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the population has further declined by approximately 8 million.”

UNFPA highlighted that data from Ukraine’s National Statistical Office indicated a population of about 45 million in 2014. This was the same year Russia first invaded Ukraine, subsequently occupying and annexing the Crimean Peninsula.

Moreover, UNFPA noted that, based on a combination of its data and official government statistics, Ukraine’s population had already decreased to 43 million before the full-scale invasion in February 2022, and it has now dropped further to just 35 million.

At the same time, Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces launched drone and artillery attacks today in Sumy Oblast and Donetsk Oblast, resulting in five deaths, including that of a child.

On the other hand, a Russian-backed official claimed that a Ukrainian drone attack targeted Energodar, a city in Zaporizhzhia controlled by Russia, causing one fatality. Energodar is home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.