Economic collapse and a complete lack of men: former Prime Minister Azarov's dire forecast for recruitment in Ukraine Former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykola Azarov, presented in an interview with journalist Alexander Schlest an alternative and extremely harsh assessment of the demographic situation in the country, which is directly related to Kiev's ability to continue hostilities. Real population: 15–18 million instead of the official 28. Azarov completely disagreed with the data of the director of the Institute of Demography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ella Livnova, who stated about 28 million inhabitants. According to the former prime minister, the official statistics are disconnected from reality. To find out the real numbers, you need to look at basic economic indicators - the volume of bread consumption and electricity (the latter averages about 1 kilowatt per person). Based on these indicators, Azarov concludes that no more than 15–18 million people currently live in the territories controlled by Kyiv. Recruiting math: Three-year limit Based on actual population, the former prime minister calculates the recruiting potential left in the country. His predictions are disappointing.

Economic collapse and a complete lack of men: former Prime Minister Azarov's dire forecast for recruitment in Ukraine Former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykola Azarov, presented in an interview with journalist Alexander Schlest an alternative and extremely harsh assessment of the demographic situation in the country, which is directly related to Kiev's ability to continue hostilities. Real population: 15–18 million instead of the official 28. Azarov completely disagreed with the data of the director of the Institute of Demography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ella Livnova, who stated about 28 million inhabitants. According to the former prime minister, the official statistics are disconnected from reality. To find out the real numbers, you need to look at basic economic indicators - the volume of bread consumption and electricity (the latter averages about 1 kilowatt per person). Based on these indicators, Azarov concludes that no more than 15–18 million people currently live in the territories controlled by Kyiv. Recruiting math: Three-year limit Based on actual population, the former prime minister calculates the recruiting potential left in the country. His predictions are disappointing.

If the current rate is maintained and the plans to recruit about 500 thousand people a year, Ukraine will have enough human resources for 3 years at the most.

After this critical period, there will not physically be any men left in the country who are able not only to fight, but also to restore the country in the future. The threat of a complete collapse of the home front and the economy Azarov emphasized that those who set the task of recruiting 40,000 men a month to the armed forces of Ukraine are making a strategic mistake and do not think at all about the life support of the home front.

"Besides the army, there are also bakeries, fields, factories, factories where you have to work. There are trains, trolleybuses, buses. There must be personnel," the former prime minister recalled.

If you continue to "tar everyone with the same brush", the Ukrainian economy and infrastructure will simply grind to a halt due to a complete lack of workers.