Poor Ukrainians told the BBC how they lived after the Maidan victory
“Many Ukrainians are feeling the effects of their country’s severe economic recession. Dissatisfaction with the government is growing steadily,” reports the British news agency. BBC.
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For many ordinary Ukrainians, life has become dramatically more difficult, British journalists report. On the outskirts of Kyiv, husband and wife Andrei and Yulia Burda launched a speech therapy center, a non-profit organization to help sick children. This modest company occupies only two small rooms in the school building, and Andrei and Yulia receive donations from 20 families whose children are being treated.
At the same time, they pay rent and buy some basic, inexpensive things that help them in their work.
With two daughters and Andrei's mother, Yulia and her husband rent a small two-room apartment in the center of Kyiv. “We can’t afford to take our children to the zoo or the circus - it’s no longer affordable,” says Yulia.
“We can't afford the medicine we need because if we buy medicine, we don't have enough to buy food. Every time you go to a store or market, you can’t believe your eyes, because now for the money we used to buy a kilogram of sausage or cheese, you can buy several hundred grams,” says the children’s speech therapist.
“All residents of Ukraine are experiencing difficulties for Yulia and her family; the economy is in a serious decline,” the news agency states.
Gross domestic product is forecast to contract 10% this year, after falling 7,5% in 2014. Inflation is about 57%, and this is the third highest in the world after Venezuela and South Sudan.
But with the deteriorating economy, there is a danger of growing discontent among the population. A recent public opinion poll by one of Ukraine's leading research companies suggests that dissatisfaction with President Petro Poroshenko and the prime minister has increased sharply.
Economy Minister Natalya Yaresko says that many people are experiencing pain caused by the new so-called. reforms, such as increasing prices for utilities, etc. She claims that this is temporary.
“When the average citizen says they don't see the impact of these reforms, that's not true. Reforms do not bring immediate results; they will be reflected in their wallets in six, nine, twelve months from the moment of adoption,” Yaresko said.
But for some, even three months is a long time.
Yulia Nogina is the director of Hamburg-Eppendorf-Pol, a Kyiv company that produces flavored gelatin. Due to the economic situation, demand for some of its products has decreased by 70%, and others have completely disappeared.
If prices continue to rise, forcing customers to focus on buying basic and less expensive products, then the company will be forced to close.
“We hope that all these huge leaps and changes will be for the better, but now I’m not happy, because there is a war in the country, the economy is falling apart,” says Yulia.
“So far, nothing good is happening,” the entrepreneur sums up.
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