Many of the villages outside of Horodnya in northern Ukraine have either been completely abandoned or are home to just a handful of people It was early September 2023 – Nataliya Namys remembers exactly – when her stepson Danylo called to tell her of a strange dream he had had He made the call from where his anti-tank unit had found quarters in the embattled region of Donbas Danylo had poor reception at the front and had called from an unknown number "He had dreamed that there would be a large funeral here in Horodnya,” Namys says The 42-year-old has a heart condition and suffers from diabetes relying on insulin to regulate her blood-sugar levels She also needs a scooter for longer distances "I’ll be there when you return.” She sobs repeatedly The article you are reading originally appeared in German in issue 4/2025 (January 18th Namys is sitting on the bank of the Chybryzh River located in a thickly forested area just 30 kilometers from where the borders of Ukraine Bumpy roads lead through the surrounding villages It is a sunny fall day and Namys is taking a break from work she weaves camouflage netting for the army on a volunteer basis It is the only thing that helps take her mind off Danylo Nataliya Namys: "He wouldn't be dissuaded." The boy’s biological mother left the family with he was just two years old and Nataliya Namys married his father She raised Danylo and his older sister like they were her own She recalls a boy who played football and planted tulips roses and lilies in the garden – and who began dreaming of joining the army from an early age "We did everything we could to change his mind,” Namys says Training in the western Ukrainian region of Lviv took six weeks soon thrown into some of the most intense battles of the war a piece of shrapnel bored its way into his arm he suffered a concussion but immediately returned to the front hardly a month after his 19th birthday and just two days after his phone call with his stepmother The billboard honoring Danilo Namys: "Forever 19" He is now commemorated in town with a large billboard rising over the parking lot of the supermarket where the few local youths gather in the evenings It shows a young man in uniform holding an assault rifle Danylo Namys is just one of several tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have been killed in this war Funerals of fallen soldiers have long since become routine the loss of young people is particularly hard to cope with The war is robbing the country of the smallest generation in its recent history The population began aging way back in the 1960s the disintegration of the Soviet Union led to economic collapse leaving millions of men and women without a future The Russian invasion has now turned the demographic crisis into a catastrophe At least 5 million Ukrainians are now living under Russian occupation cut off from the rest of the country by trenches and minefields On top of that are the tens of thousands of civilians who have been killed and the up to 100,000 fallen soldiers only an estimated 29 million people live in Ukrainian areas under Kyiv’s control The populations of industrialized countries begin shrinking when the birthrate falls below 2.1 children per woman according to estimates by leading demographer Ella Libanova head of the Institute for Demography and Social Studies in Kyiv Politicians are well aware of the situation Only men aged 25 and older are required to enlist even though commanders at the front need every healthy recruit they can get The age limit was even 27 until last spring with parliament and the government only reluctantly lowering it "The Kid,” was not chosen at random: The average age of Ukrainian soldiers is 40 Her stepson isn’t just the youngest casualty from Horodnya a football tournament was held in his memory Andriy Bohdan is in good spirits despite it all The 57-year-old has been mayor of Horodnya for the last 22 years and is also head of the "hromada” of the same name a kind of federation of municipalities that includes the town and all of the surrounding villages right up to the borders with Russia and Belarus Bohdan receives his visitors in a sparsely furnished building that serves as his office Files are piled up on the tables and assistants are rushing back and forth through the offices The 2025 budget is currently being compiled Bohdan says that much has changed for the better since Ukraine gained its independence in 1991 "The work ethic is better than it used to be as is the way we treat nature and the environment,” he says broad streets flanked by well-tended gardens in front of small wooden houses and tidy playgrounds Empty houses and even completely abandoned hamlets can be found in the forests surrounding the town The countryside is deserted but not neglected "The natural scenery is beautiful,” Bohdan says "But the demographic situation is a big problem.” Hromoda administrator Andriy Bohdan: "The market economy is only slowly gaining a foothold here." Bohdan has been around for every step of the downfall a Moscow-based television manufacturer that had a subsidiary in town our city was the only district capital where color televisions were produced,” he says proudly the second largest employer in the region at the time "Seven-hundred people were without work and all the soldiers were gone,” Bohdan says Horodnya had one of the highest unemployment rates in all of Ukraine "The market economy was only slowly gaining a foothold here,” says Bohdan The losses have continued into the new millennium – and were then magnified by the Russian invasion Horodnya lies on a highway that connects Russia directly with Kyiv the Ukrainian capital some 240 kilometers to the south The first tanks reached the outskirts of town by 8 a.m Images of fallen soldiers in the town museum of Horodnya The town spent 37 days under Russian occupation People came together to bake bread and cooperated to acquire fuel There was hardly any fighting in the region But the war affected Horodnya in different way opening a route for the first residents to begin fleeing to the EU they were members of minority communities who had relatives or friends abroad: Adventists People continued leaving after the occupiers withdrew in early April 2022 Other residents were conscripted into the military or volunteered Some 75 soldiers from Horodnya have fallen in battle The mayor estimates that around 10 percent of hromada residents have left since the beginning of the war and the effect on the economy has been significant "These people are among the most productive The site of the former military academy’s airstrip is in a forested area on the outskirts of town Lumberyard operator Oleg Korotky bought it in 2003 and set up shop in the hangars and on the tarmac saws are screeching and the smell of spruce pervades the drying chambers taciturn 55-year-old with suspenders and a firm handshake His office is adorned with a map of Ukraine hanging on the wall Lumber mill owner Korotky: "Of course it hurts." Korotky’s business focuses on the processing of lumber His company harvests some of the birch and spruce itself but buys most of it on the open market in Spain it is used to produce the caps for designer creams he used to export to other countries as well "You used to be able to pack the container full right here and put it on the train that would head straight to the Black Sea.” After the Russian invasion the shipping lanes were blocked for a time and Korotky began trucking his wood to the EU Ukrainian products can once again be exported via the Black Sea ports Of the 30 people he employed before the war Two were killed at the front and two others are missing Still others have been conscripted or have gone underground to avoid being sent to the front "Of course it hurts,” says Korotky with a sigh specialists in transportation and workmanship.” And such people are missing in the entire region: The lumber industry is the most important sector in Horodnya alongside agriculture Korotky has turned to hiring women and older workers a woman in her 60s is assembling palettes for the wood "Many of those now working here are already of retirement age,” he says It is a trend that can be observed across the country the perfect worker is someone who has already turned 60 "Such people can no longer be conscripted,” she says the elderly are frequently the only ones left When she got started here in the late 1990s the capital of the eponymous region located an hour’s drive south of Horodnya "That’s how the Soviet Union was,” she says "You couldn’t choose where you were sent.” Kutsa started her career as a math teacher met her husband here and settled down in the region Village head Lyudmila Kutsa: "I drive through the area and try to solve people’s problems." she has been responsible for nine tiny hamlets in the forest with others having populations of three or five but now the total is below 300 and only two of nine village shops remain open Kutsa’s commute takes her along a track covered in deep sand that can quickly bog down those who misjudge the curves some of which are slowly succumbing to entropy Others have almost vanished in the undergrowth as though the forest is trying to swallow them up Sometimes she plays the role of social worker other times she maintains order or acts as psychologist she helped put children on school buses taking them to Horodnya "I drive through the area and try to solve people’s problems,” she says Many of those Kutsa visits have relatives abroad: Her secretary's daughter emigrated to Sweden years ago and the librarian’s son left for Israel in 2020 to work in construction A soldier on home leave asks Kutsa on this day for advice about buying a home; his grown daughter lives in Poland Many of the village shops in the region have closed their doors This is one of two that remains operational around 20 people from her federation of villages have left for the EU almost 10 percent of the entire population settles abroad and then passes along their contacts Eight villagers have fled since the Russian invasion But emigration and flight are contributing to Ukraine’s depopulation much more strongly than the fighting on the front lines not even two weeks after Russian troops withdrew from the region Together with her husband and five daughters she boarded a minibus organized by the city and fled And Horodnya had lost one of its few remaining large families "I only had one concern,” says a crying Marchenko over the phone "the safety of my children.” She had already lost one a Russian missile struck the air academy in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv One of the students was Marchenko’s son Anatoliy who went by Tolya and was studying to become an engineer He immediately began digging through the rubble trying to pull out survivors when a second missile hit the facility and killed him His hometown of Horodnya was occupied by Russian troops and his family hardly had any contact with the outside world Tolya was buried near Kyiv six days after his death she gave up her job as a shop assistant and her husband They gathered their daughters and left the country their journey did not devolve into an odyssey Marchenko’s daughter had spent some time in Spain while still in school as part of a sponsorship program and her former hosts offered the family a place to stay Our hosts are wonderful,” says the Ukrainian The family is living free of charge in a two-story house And Marchenko’s job in a care home is just a five-minute walk away Her husband found work in a slaughterhouse Their daughters started school just three days after their arrival and have long since become fluent in Spanish She says she doesn’t know if they will ever go back but they ended in nothing,” says Marchenko she hopes that Ukraine becomes a member of the European Union "It would be best for our family if we could easily travel home without all the paperwork – even if only for a visit.” A certain degree of depopulation is unavoidable though the country’s population is four times larger tools available to Ukraine to fight against extreme depopulation "Not only must Ukrainians be encouraged to return but people from other countries must be attracted as well,” the expert says An improvement in life quality could also contribute to a rising birthrate The security guarantees that Ukraine receives will then be decisive People would hardly return to a country facing an indefinite threat from Russia EU membership would be crucial for the country’s economic future "It would stimulate growth and modernize the economy.” Demography expert Ella Libanova believes EU membership is crucial for the country's future the people of Horodnya have also long been placing their hopes in Europe Nataliya Namys’ fallen son-in-law Danylo had dreamed of traveling the Continent has a son in Poland and customers in the EU The war forced the Marchenko family into a balancing act between Europe and their home – and they would now like to see the two grow together believes the residents’ improved work ethic can also be traced back to Europe: Many in Horodnya whether as seasonal laborers or through relatives His home may currently lie on the border between Ukraine and Russia "But I see something different: the future external border of the EU.” The security situation throughout Ukraine remains highly volatile, and conditions may deteriorate without warning. U.S. citizens should remain vigilant and know the location of your closest shelter or protected space. https://t.co/V9MBPE5FmO I just talked with a real friend of Ukraine - President of Poland @AndrzejDuda for their effective concrete help in such a difficult time People of the World…Like you, I am distraught watching Ukraine under attack. We must come together as a force for good! @WCKitchen is on Poland border delivering meals tonight—Romania soon. In addition to your donations…I am committing support from the Bezos award to Ukraine.🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/ws0EFl8zLd Strengthening sanctions, concrete defense assistance and an anti-war coalition have just been discussed with @POTUS Grateful to 🇺🇸 for the strong support to 🇺🇦 Sunrise in Kyiv. Who knows what the day will bring. pic.twitter.com/gs9Yh4EtQm '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" Ukraine’s resistance against Russia’s latest invasion is the stuff of legend the Kremlin’s brutal attempt to force Ukrainians to submit to its control has run head-on into one steely barrier after another It’s the Azovstal Steel and Iron Works warehouse in Mariupol That’s where the Azov Battalion and 36th Marine Brigade have been hiding out and battling Russian forces It’s a miles-long series of buildings that contain a deep network of bunkers connected by an intricate web of tunnels the structure is able to withstand a nuclear attack The warehouse and the city have become global symbols of strength and resistance It is the headquarters of European dignity which protects the world’s freedom,” said Yuriy Sak an advisor to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense “The brave defenders of Mariupol have been holding the city for 55 days now,” he said love of motherland and self-sacrifice in the name of freedom.” It’s not clear how many fighters are inside the complex but there are reports that up to a thousand people — including civilians — have taken refuge there The sprawling compound allows the fighters to slip in and out and conduct ambushes While the fighters have brazenly taunted Russia’s forces they are calling — from deep underground — for help “I am commander of Azov regiment,” said Denis Prokopenko in a message on a Telegram channel where hundreds of civilians are sheltering.” Prokopenko said the civilians hiding in the compound are people of all ages children and family members of those defending Mariupol and Russian state media suggests he’s right the head of Russia’s National Defense Management Center calling on Ukrainian troops remaining at the Azovstal complex to surrender they have until “14:00 Moscow time on April 20 Russian military phone calls intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence indicate the facility will soon be blanketed with powerful bombs Ukraine’s military flatly refused the ultimatum They continue to ask Western nations for help and express regret that not all of their weapons requests have been fulfilled so far “Had Ukraine received the requested military assistance — heavy long-range artillery — the situation in Mariupol would not be so horrific as it is now,” said Sak But he added: “There is still time — time for the international partners of Ukraine to act SIGN UP TODAY for J.J Green’s national security newsletter “Inside the SCIF.” The weekly email delivers unique insight into the intelligence law enforcement and foreign policy communities JJ Green is WTOP's National Security Correspondent and provides regular on-air and online analysis He is also the host of two podcasts: Target USA and Colors: A Dialogue on Race in America This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.