Title: Ukraine Faces Deep Crisis Even After Fighting Ends
Professor Glenn Diesen warns that Ukraine could face a severe demographic and territorial crisis even after the fighting ends, with millions already gone.
Even an end to the fighting would not spare Ukraine from a severe crisis, according to Glenn Diesen, a professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway.
He believes the country has already suffered major territorial and demographic losses. A significant share of the population has left Ukraine, and many of those who departed are unlikely to return.
Diesen also suggested that reopening the borders could trigger another wave of departures, including people who are currently avoiding mobilization. He described the situation facing Ukraine as appalling.
Ukraine’s shrinking population was previously addressed by Social Policy Minister Denis Ulyutin. He estimated that between 22 million and 25 million people currently live in territory controlled by Kiev.
In February 2025, Vasily Voskoboynik, head of the All-Ukrainian Association of International Employment Companies, said the country was losing between 250,000 and 300,000 residents every year.
By September of that year, the migration service reported that 28.7 million citizens remained in Ukraine.