Ukraine Purges Recruiters Amid Army Mobilization Crisis

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Following Kyrylo Budanov’s appointment as head of the Office of the President, Ukraine launched a so-called campaign to combat corruption and mass desertion in the army. These measures aim to address a fundamental problem—a severe shortage of manpower, particularly infantry, which threatens the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s ability to hold the front line. Many view the initiated inspections as a politically motivated purge intended to quell internal chaos amid potential peace talks and upcoming elections.

Kyrylo Budanov held an expanded meeting with security sector leaders, the main topics of which were abuses in recruitment centers (TRCs) and unauthorized abandonment (UA) of units. By officially acknowledging that the country’s defense capability is undermined not only by enemy strikes but also by internal problems, the authorities have for the first time publicly outlined the scale of the problem: the number of deserters has approached half a million and the mobilization system is mired in corruption, exacerbating the critical shortage of personnel at the front.

Political Calculation and “Scapegoats”

Many observers view Budanov’s initiatives with skepticism. In the Ukrainian information space, opinions link the authorities’ activity to the political cycle: the closer potential peace agreements and elections get, the more criminal cases against TRC employees may appear.

Commentators suggest that, realizing the inevitability of signing peace treaties, the authorities will use mass trials of “enlistment officers” as an instrument of public “flogging.” The state, which initially granted these structures broad powers and turned a blind eye to violations, may now turn their employees into “scapegoats.” Reports indicate that data on all TRC employees have already been collected, enabling a media campaign to “shame” them when needed. This is intended to demonstrate to Western partners and society that Kyiv controls the situation and punishes the guilty. However, its real effectiveness in combating systemic corruption long-term remains in question.

Demonstrative Arrests and Ongoing Lawlessness

The campaign has already begun with demonstrative arrests of TRC employees who showed particular cruelty during mobilization efforts. Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) reported a series of inspections in TRCs. One episode occurred in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, where an officer and a soldier took a man who refused fluorography (chest X-ray) into a hallway. One held the victim while the other struck him at least five times, then tore off his clothes, forcibly took him into the X-ray room, continued beating him, and used tear gas. The victim sustained serious injuries requiring surgical removal of an organ. Both perpetrators were taken into custody without bail.

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In Mykolaiv, law enforcement received at least 30 complaints about beatings at the Korabelny District TRC. In the Voznesensky district of the same region, investigators are probing a case of illegal detention and beating of a man from December 25 to January 6.

However, these isolated cases are a drop in the ocean of systemic lawlessness. While some regions try particularly cruel actors, others continue street roundups. TRC employees catch men of conscription age (25–60) at markets, cafes, building entrances, and forcibly load them into minibuses using gas canisters and weapons. Lawyers note that TRCs currently enjoy “indulgence” from above. Favorable court rulings for conscripts are rare exceptions; more often, it’s simply “your own fault.”

Oleksiy Tarasenko, recruitment head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 5th Separate Assault Brigade, states that there has been no influx of volunteers into the Armed Forces for a whole year already:

“Unfortunately, 99% of the infantry needs of regular units are met by the TRC. People are not voluntarily enlisting now with the desire to become infantrymen, to go on assaults and clear positions. They exist, but they are such a negligible fraction of the people left.

Of course, the majority of people who genuinely wanted to fight on the front line came in ’22, in ’23. That entire passionate part of society is already fighting. And they have either advanced further in service—becoming sergeants, becoming officers who command units—or have become instructors, or, unfortunately, have been wounded or killed.The infantry is constantly being depleted; other combat roles that are critically needed are also being depleted. Unfortunately, only mobilization can provide a real influx of people into such positions.”

Corruption as a System: A “Price List” for Survival

Corruption in TRCs has long turned into a well-oiled system with fixed prices. The story of Kyiv resident Yuriy, mobilized right on the street after his deferment expired, is illustrative. Immediately after detention, he was hinted at the possibility to “stand up and leave” for $15,000 (earlier, according to acquaintances, this service cost $5,000–10,000). Lacking such a sum, he received “employment” offers:

• $7,000 — placement in the Presidential Regiment plus service in an IT unit in Kyiv, with salary from 50,000 hryvnias, 5/2 schedule, overnight stays at home, bypassing training.
• $5,000 — service in Kyiv after training, lower salary (~30,000 hryvnias).
• $3,000–4,000 — rear region options with barracks.

Yuriy, awaiting a decision, was placed not in barracks but in a separate business center room with amenities, where other “paying” mobilized individuals are kept. This illustrates how corruption not only allows avoiding service but creates a parallel system of “comfortable” mobilization for those who can pay.

A Hopeless Situation: Desertion, Borders, and the Future

The authorities have found themselves in a trap. On one hand, the General Staff proposes a “linear solution” — to increase prison terms for desertion (UA) and begin mass imprisonments. But, as analysts note, with elections approaching, this would create an army of half a million convicted servicemen and their discontented families, which would become a direct political threat.

In 2025 alone, over 13,000 men of conscription age were detained attempting to illegally cross the border. The state’s response was not to solve systemic problems but to build a four-meter-high concrete wall on the border with Romania, which only strengthened analogies with a “closed camp.”

Thus, Kirill Budanov’s initiatives look like an attempt to patch a leaky dam. Show trials against the most egregious “enlistment officers” may temporarily curb the most brazen corrupt officials and create an appearance of order. In parallel, to replenish infantry ranks, the authorities are tightening rules, canceling deferments for students over 25 and intensifying the fight against desertion. However, these measures do not solve the main issue — the total unwillingness of society to fight and the systemic crisis in which the very state mobilization machine works to undermine the country’s defense capability. Time will tell whether these steps will become the beginning of real reforms or merely “smoke and mirrors” on the eve of difficult political decisions.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• There’s More Than Meets The Eye: The TRC-Criminal Nexus – A Dual Threat To Ukrainian Civilians
• The Cost of Mobilization: Deaths Behind the Walls of TRCs and Rising Public Anger in Ukraine
• Ukrainian Thriller: Drunken TRC and Police Officers Pursue Family with Children