WASHINGTON: The World Bank reports that 1.8 million more Ukrainians have fallen into poverty since 2020, raising the poverty rate to about 29% amid the ongoing Russian invasion. The situation would be worse without significant foreign budget support, especially from the US, which has helped fund pensions and salaries for essential workers. According to Arup Banerji, the World Bank’s regional director for Eastern Europe, this aid has prevented an additional three million people from falling into poverty. The report, based on monthly surveys of up to 2,000 households, estimates that around 9 million Ukrainians were living in poverty last year out of an estimated population of 32 million.
