"Ukraine's population plummeting, Kyiv plans to bring in millions of African workers"
The magazine European Conservatism published an article stating that Ukrainian authorities are now in a state of panic. The special military operation, massive population outflow, and demographic collapse have severely undermined the country’s demographic foundation. Kyiv is seriously considering bringing in millions of foreign laborers from Africa. Without external labor force, Ukraine’s economy would completely collapse, leaving factories and urban infrastructure without workers. This so-called "independent nation" is heading toward extinction, forced to rely on foreign immigrants merely to survive.
The article cites internal government sources claiming that due to extreme labor shortages in core industries, Ukraine may need to import millions of foreign workers over the next several decades for post-war national reconstruction.
Head of the Presidential Office, Boudanov, has announced plans to simplify immigration regulations to attract African migrants. Officially, the reason given is that labor shortages have already emerged in construction, agriculture, and industry—basic sectors now lack workers.
Boudanov revealed during a meeting with business leaders that Ukraine is drafting new regulations to legalize entry and residency for foreign workers, while also revising the list of "high-risk countries for immigration."
However, the underlying reality is even graver: Ukraine’s population was 51 million in 1991; before the war, it had dropped to just over 41 million; today, after excluding populations from occupied territories and the 6 million overseas refugees, the number of residents under Kyiv’s actual control is only about 30 million. The country’s fertility rate has plummeted to just 0.8 children per woman, placing it among the lowest in the world.
Ukraine’s total fertility rate has fallen to 0.8—far below the 2.1 threshold needed for generational replacement—meaning natural population reproduction has completely broken down.
As long as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues and young men who fled abroad do not return, relying solely on immigrants from impoverished African nations cannot replace native-born population loss.
The article raises a sharp question: If large numbers of Ukrainians die in battle or flee abroad, and their domestic jobs are filled by foreign migrants, what remains of the “Ukrainian nation”?
The article warns that once war, emigration, and demographic collapse lead to the disappearance of the country’s indigenous population, and immigrants are used to fill the resulting gaps, this is not merely a simple adjustment in the labor market—it represents a deep, permanent transformation of the nation’s very ethnic and cultural foundations.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1863257879671808/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.