CNN reports from a quiet maternity hospital in Odesa, Ukraine, where births are down 40 percent since the start of the country’s war with Russia.

Kyiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine is currently facing a significant demographic challenge, with the nation recording the lowest birth rate globally amid its ongoing conflict with Russia. In the maternity hospitals of Odesa, births have decreased by 40 percent since the war began. The shift is palpable in the silent hallways of these medical centers. Obstacles faced by families, like that of Ophelia and her husband who serves in the army, have contributed to this decline. They delayed starting their family due to the war.

The country's demographic crisis is further underscored by the official statistics showing three deaths for every birth, accentuating the severity of the situation. Meanwhile, young men in Odesa are frequently stopped by draft officers to ensure military service compliance, amid reports of social media posts alerting potential draftees to checkpoints.

Odesa's graveyards bear stark testimony to the human cost of the war, with frequent funerals held for the fallen soldiers. The emotional toll on families is profound, as seen with the bereaved mother of 23-year-old Anton Sidorko. Despite these hardships, there is hope embodied in the newborns like Ophelia's son, Mark, representing a future that remains uncertain but fought for.



Ukraine grapples with lowest birth rate in the world

Baby Mark is just hours old, but his mother Ophelia waited years for this moment. Probably the war was the only thing stopping us from having a baby, she tells us. My husband is in the army and talked about kids for four years and then the war started and it wasn't time for kids. Do you feel it's sort of your duty? I think yes, she says. They are destroying us, our nation. Odessa, like all of Ukraine, is in the grips of a demographic crisis. It can be felt in the heavy silence of these hallways. This is definitely one of the quietest maternity hospitals that I've ever visited and the main doctor just told us that births here are down 40 percent since the start of the war. According to official statistics, there are three deaths for every birth. Ukraine has the highest death rate and the lowest birth rate in the world. Just as the country needs babies to keep growing the population, it needs men to keep fighting the war. On the streets of Odessa, draft officer Oleksandr stops men of fighting age to make sure they are not dodging their duty. You're the second team to stop us today, two young men tell him. They're 21 and 19, below the conscription age of 25. Lucky for them. Oleksandr says it has become harder and harder to find draft dodgers because people put out notices on social media warning others of where the patrols are. It happens every day. As soon as we set up checkpoints and start working, the Odessa telegram channels inform locals about this, he says. And there are no people on the streets. Everyone runs away. It's not hard to see why. Everyone here has lost someone. Three years of war with Russia has ravaged Ukraine's male adult population. The section of Odessa's main graveyard designated for military burials is a sea of flags and tombstones. Fresh plots have been dug, ready for the war's newest victims. Here, funerals are near daily and often held in batches of two or three. Every detail is perfectly choreographed. The city has had plenty of practice to get it right. The mother of 23-year-old Anton Sidorko weeps over the body of her son. My sunshine, you won't shine anymore for me. You won't come and say mama, I'm here, she sobs. I won't see you again. You are far away, so far away. For those who give life, the pain of losing that love is unbearable. Back at the maternity hospital, Ophelia's husband has come to fetch her and baby Mark. He asks we not show his face. Come to us, come to us with your sister. Grow big and strong, the nurse says, as she hands him the baby. Come back to us for a sister. But he will be a burden to the family. He will be a burden to the family. He will be a burden to the family. He will be a burden to the family. Come back to us for a sister. But he will be heading back to the front in just over a week. And Ukraine's population will never recover until there is peace.

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Ukraine Invasion