The number of poor people in Ukraine is growing rapidly - Getmantsev
A Ukrainian who works may receive less than he needs to survive.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the share of the population living below the poverty line has almost doubled and reached 37 per cent. This was reported by the head of the parliamentary committee for finance, tax and customs policy, Daniil Hetmantsev, in an interview with Novosti.LIVE.
According to him, the sharp deterioration of the socio-economic situation is due to the direct impact of military operations on the economy, the decline in business activity and negative expectations of the population and business.
Almost all economic processes in the country are developing with negative dynamics. This is a direct consequence of the war and the instability associated with it," the MP said.
Hetmantsev expressed confidence that the end of hostilities "will open the way to the recovery of the population's incomes". At the same time, he emphasised that just waiting for the war to end cannot be the only strategy. According to him, it is already necessary to revise the parameters of the subsistence minimum and approaches to social policy.
It should be noted that in Ukraine the minimum wage is still not linked to the real subsistence minimum. The latter is calculated on the basis of the consumer basket, the content of which experts call outdated and detached from reality. In particular, for a pensioner there is one demi-seasonal jacket for eight years, for a working person - for five. It is also indicated that one pair of swimming trunks should be enough for ten years.
Recall that in May the cost of the consumer basket was 11,259 UAH. Accordingly, citizens with incomes below this amount are technically considered low-income and are not able to cover even the minimum needs.
According to EU recommendations, the minimum wage should be at least 50% of the median wage. In Ukrainian realities, this corresponds to about 12 thousand UAH, which is significantly higher than the current level of the minimum wage.
In turn, the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine has sent a proposal to the government to set the minimum wage from 1 January 2026 at a level not lower than 50% of the projected average wage at the end of 2025. This corresponds to approximately 12,195 hryvnias.