Ukraine's population plunges by 10m and birth rate shrinks as millions flee Putin's war

Ukraine's population has shrunk by more than 10 million since Vladimir Putin widened Russia's invasion more than two years ago, the United Nations has said.

Florence Bauer from the United Nations Population Fund told reporters in Geneva the drop was the result of a number of factors, including some 6.7 million people fleeing Ukraine as refugees.

She said the country's birth rate has fallen to an average of about one child per woman, well below the replacement rate of 2.1 children each woman should have to maintain a population's size.

Ms Bauer said: "The Ukraine population has declined by over 10 million since the beginning of the war." The expert explained how several thousand casualties of Russia's war in Ukraine have also resulted in the drop.

News of the fall comes as Ukraine's president said he hopes allies will take a more positive position over his so-called "victory plan" after the US election.

Volodymyr Zelensky conceded, however, that his key demand - an invitation to join NATO - is not currently welcome by some major Western partners, in particular Germany.

He said the Kremlin was also likely looking at the post-election scenario in the United States to assess the possibility of cease-fire talks with Ukraine.

Ukraine's leader said that if partial cease-fire deals could be reached over attacks on energy infrastructure and Black Sea shipping routes, it would signal the end of the "hot phase" of the war.

On NATO, Mr Zelensky said Britain, France, and Italy have shown signs of support, but Germany has reservations. He believes only a US green light will convince Berlin to accept the idea.

Ukraine's president said: "But the fact is that the German side is skeptical about our NATO membership - that’s a fact. I believe their stance is softer than it was before - this is also a fact.

"But when it comes to the invitation I’m talking about now, they are afraid of ... Russia’s reaction."

Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin will this week meet with China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian, defying predictions the war in Ukraine and an international arrest warrant would turn him into a pariah.

They will all be in the Russian city of Kazan on Tuesday for a meeting of the BRICS bloc of developing economies.

The alliance, which aims to counterbalance the Western-led world order, initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa but is expanding rapidly.

Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia joined in January. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied. A number of others expressed a desire to become members.

On the sidelines of the summit, Putin will meet with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. It will be the first visit to Russia in more than two years for Mr Guterres, who has repeatedly criticized Russia's war in Ukraine.