ukraine russia war Today is the 21st day of the war between Ukraine and the Russian army. The soil of Ukraine is burning with air bombs being thrown by Russian soldiers. Lakhs of people have become homeless and are forced to leave the country. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said 99 percent of Ukrainians, or 9 out of 10, could face starvation or extreme poverty if the war continues. This can be a period that will push the country back two decades.
UNDP administrator Achim Steiner said his agency was working with the Ukrainian government to avoid a worst-case scenario when the economy collapses. It aims to provide cash transfers along with buying food for families to survive and meet basic necessities. “If the conflict goes on longer, we’re going to see a substantial increase in the poverty rate,” Steiner told Reuters.
Steiner added that if the war continues, we can say that 9 out of 10 Ukrainians may face extreme poverty. “We can infer from this that up to 18 years of Ukraine’s development work in this war can be wiped out in just 12 to 18 months.”
Ukraine’s top government economic adviser, Oleg Ustenko, said last Thursday that the Russian military had so far destroyed infrastructure worth at least $100 billion and closed 50% of Ukraine’s businesses completely.