Far from the roar of artillery and the churn of frontline hospitals, a maternity ward in western Ukraine sits in near silence β a stark symbol of a nation fighting not only a war, but a demographic collapse that could shape its future long after the guns go quiet.
Only 139 babies have been born this year in Hoshcha, a town of 5,000, a steady slide from 164 last year and a dramatic fall from more than 400 births a decade ago. The empty ward tells a wider national story: Ukraine is losing people faster than it can replace them.
βMany young men have died,β gynaecologist Yevhen Hekkel said quietly. βMen who were supposed to replenish Ukraineβs gene pool.β
Nearly four years of war have drained the countryβs population through death, displacement and a birth
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