Former Economy Minister: Only 10 million Ukrainians may remain

Tymofiy Mylovanov. Photo: Censor.net

Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics and former Minister of Economy, warned of a critical demographic situation and the possible need to attract 10 million migrant workers.

“My pessimistic estimate is that only 10–15 million Ukrainians may remain in the country,” Mylovanov said.

He noted that the war has accelerated Ukraine’s brain drain. Among this year’s international Olympiad winners, three enrolled at the Kyiv School of Economics, two at Taras Shevchenko University, while five left for Poland. Winners of math Olympiads, he added, “don’t even take the national test anymore – they go abroad immediately.”

“To keep talented youth from leaving, we must create proper conditions. We surveyed Ukrainian refugees in Germany about what would make them return: they need housing, job prospects, and quality education. Without these, they will stay abroad,” Mylovanov emphasized.

He also criticized the state of Ukrainian universities: “There are more than 400 universities in Ukraine, even though many students have gone abroad. What is their purpose? Selling diplomas and covering for draft evasion.”

Discussing the economic future under depopulation, Mylovanov said Ukraine will need to bring in about 10 million labor migrants.

“Prepare for a new Ukraine. If we don’t learn to become smarter ourselves, we’ll have to import millions, not tens of thousands, mostly for manual labor. Just look at how many pensioners we have and compare that with the number of working-age people. It’s critical,” warned the KSE president.

According to him, Ukraine faces a stark choice: “Either there will be fewer of us, but we’ll be well-educated, working with artificial intelligence and driving the economy forward – or we’ll remain ignorant, be replaced by technology, and gaps will be filled by cheap migrants.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the authorities were discussing whether to resettle the country with migrants.

Read also