Every fifth Ukrainian family experiences a shortage of food

Nearly two years of war have led the Ukrainian population to a dire state. The vast majority of people living near the combat zone face a food deficit, as stated by the UN.

“Today, due to military actions, Ukrainians are deprived of access to markets for purchasing food. Farmers report they can no longer produce food. This situation has serious consequences both inside Ukraine and beyond its borders. War leads to a lack of food security within the country. And this is in a country that, before February 2022, fed 400 million people worldwide annually. Already, according to our research, we know that in 80 percent of populated areas near the front lines, residents have limited access to food. Today, approximately every fifth Ukrainian family experiences some level of food shortage,” says Matthew Hollingworth, the director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

One in four residents of Ukraine has fallen into poverty since the start of the war. Before the war, this figure was around 5 percent of the country’s population, but by mid-2023, it has reached 25 percent.