ABSTRACT
The state of Ukraine's economy is characterized by the sharp impoverishment of the population contrasting with oligarchs’ accumulation of fortunes through corruption. It results in political instability in the country. It is considered that the poverty of our time is different from the poverty of the past, because it is not caused by the natural scarcity of resources, as it was the case in the previous periods. The Ukrainian society is facing a dilemma: either to reduce income inequality or to remain a third-world country with low levels of consumption. The financial risks are increasing amid the worsening political relations in the world, falling oil prices, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the trade conflict between the United States and China. Social inequality is closely linked to the rise in poverty. The inability to get a quality education condemns children from poor families to smaller chances of finding decent-paying jobs and, consequently, to misery in adulthood.
