Wednesday, October 23

The United Nations released in a new report that they estimate that Ukraine's population has declined by 10 million since the country's conflict with Russia originally began in 2014.

Russia's conflict with Ukraine began back in 2014 when they annexed the area of Crimea, which is still in Russian possession. Ukraine's population was around 45 million at the time, and it slowly came down to around 43 million by 2022. Then, in 2022, Russia launched their extensive invasion of Ukraine, charging into the eastern portion of the country. Since then, the two have been constantly warring, leading to the evacuation of around 8 million more Ukrainians-- bringing the total population down to a mere 35 million. As a comparison, that's 2 million less than the population of Tokyo alone.

However, even before the war, birth rates were declining, similar to most other countries in eastern Europe. Ukraine's current birth rate is averaging at a mere one birth per woman, which is extremely low compared to other countries around the world. In 2023, Ukraine's Health Ministry reported that around 16,100 children were born each month, while that number was as high as 23,000 before the invasion in 2022. In addition, many people across rural areas of eastern Europe are emigrating to other countries for more opportunities, including the United States and much of western Europe.

This comes as the Russo-Ukrainian War rages on, with both sides making advancements in recent months. While Russia is inching forward into eastern Ukraine, they are fighting back, and one counterattack even led to Ukraine gaining Russian territory in the province of Kursk. However, while Ukraine has defended their capital, Kyiv, and the northern side of the country, Russia has gained large amounts of land towards the easternmost portion of Ukraine.

A total of 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and another 100,000 to 120,000 have been injured, while around 120,000 soldiers have been killed and another 170,000 to 180,000 have been injured on the Russian side. However, both Russia and Ukraine have not confirmed numbers for death tolls or total casualties-- these are simply estimations. Unfortunately, neither side will agree to back down, meaning that the war could continue for years and years, leading to even more damage and even more casualties.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): The largest state in the US, Alaska, is a staggering 429 times the size of the smallest state, Rhode Island, in terms of area. In addition, its coastline is longer than the coastlines of all 49 other states combined. However, Rhode Island has the larger population of the two-- by more than 300,000 people.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door. (Coco Chanel)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Betwixt (adverb/preposition)- Betwixt is a synonym of between that lends an old-fashioned feel to both speech and writing. It is sometimes used in the phrase "betwixt and between" to mean "in the middle" or "neither one thing nor the other."

In a Sentence: Charley took a seat betwixt two other passengers.