2023-05-01 12:29:00
In Ukraine, the poverty rate increased from 5.5% to 24.2%, up to 7.1 million people joined the army of the poor in 2022. The English edition of The Guardian writes about this in the article “Pawnshops and bread lines: how poverty captures Ukraine while the war continues.”
The Guardian’s author is reporting from one of Kyiv’s pawnshops. The journalist quotes a receptionist saying that on some busy days, up to 50 people can bring their things to sell – and up to 50% of them will not return for them.
“…the cashier Alexander Stepanov notices from behind a tempered glass window that on a busy day, up to 50 people can visit the store to sell mobile phones and household appliances,” reports The Guardian.
“People are suffering because of the war. They don’t have money.” According to him, many have lost their jobs, and prices have risen even for those who have a job, ”The Guardian quotes the words of a pawnshop receiver.
The Guardian cites data from the World Bank, according to which “poverty rose from 5.5% to 24.2% in Ukraine in 2022, pushing another 7.1 million people into poverty, with the rural areas most affected, although not catches the eye.”
“While unemployment is unofficially at 36% and inflation at 26.6% as of the end of 2022, the World Bank Regional Director for Eastern Europe Arup Banerjee warned that poverty could continue to rise sharply,” informs The Guardian.
“Prices for everything have gone up. The biggest expense item is food, and then fuel for the car. Some positions have risen in price by 40-50%. Before the war, my wife went to the store and spent 200 hryvnias on purchases, and now the same purchases cost 400–500 hryvnias, ”the journalist quoted an appraiser from one of the Kyiv pawnshops as saying.
The Guardian cites an economist’s opinion Yeleny Bilanwhich suggests that the economic crisis is getting worse. The economist argues that without international funding, including pledges of another $43 billion, the situation would be even worse.
“The fall in GDP was up to 30%, largely because Ukraine exports its goods through ports to which it currently does not have access. Our inflation was 26% – and again, the situation could be even worse – but people’s salaries are not growing, but [национальная] the currency fell 20% against the dollar. And the biggest challenge is how to create new jobs,” – The Guardian quotes the opinion of a Kyiv economist.
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