Since the onset of the full-scale war, Ukraine has experienced a rapid increase in the poverty level — it has nearly doubled, reaching 37%. Prior to 2022, this indicator showed a gradual decline, but the hostilities and the associated economic difficulties have led to a sharp deterioration of the situation.
This is reported by Finway
Impact of War on the Economy and Poverty
The head of the committee on finance, tax, and customs policy, Danilo Hetmantsev, noted that the deterioration of economic processes in Ukraine is directly linked to military actions, negative expectations, and overall instability. According to him, the end of hostilities should serve as a catalyst for the opposite trend — a gradual reduction in poverty. However, simply waiting for peace is not enough; it is necessary to raise the issue of changing the minimum subsistence level right now.
“There are so-called peace dividends in every country. This is confirmed by economic history, where peace itself leads to people becoming wealthier and poverty decreasing. We can even see this in our own statistics, when in 2014 poverty increased. And after 2014, it decreased until 2022,” he said.
Issues of Minimum Subsistence Level and Minimum Wage
Even working Ukrainians can find themselves below the poverty line due to the minimum subsistence level not meeting real needs. The minimum wage cannot be set lower than the minimum subsistence level, which is determined based on the cost assessment of the consumer basket. However, this basket often does not account for the true needs of people: for example, a pensioner is allocated one demi-season jacket for 8 years, while a worker is allocated one for 5 years; swim trunks are expected to last a worker four years, but a pensioner ten.
In May, the cost of such a basket was 11,259 UAH. Therefore, all citizens earning less than 11.2 thousand UAH are effectively unable to meet even basic living needs. Working Ukrainians often receive salaries below this threshold.
According to European recommendations, the minimum wage in Ukraine should currently be at least 12,000 UAH, which is about half of the median salary. The minimum wage should not be lower than 11.2 thousand UAH, as this contradicts the principles of social guarantees.
The Federation of Trade Unions has submitted a proposal to the government to establish a minimum wage of no less than 50% of the projected average monthly salary of workers by the end of 2025, starting from January 1, 2026. This amounts to approximately 12,195 UAH.