Ukraine Defense Minister Reports 2 Million Draft Dodgers

Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told parliament on January 14, 2026, that the military is facing a severe personnel crisis, with approximately 2 million Ukrainians evading the military draft and 200,000 soldiers absent without official leave. This shortage has degraded operational capacity, illustrated by a 1-to-8 troop disparity against Russian forces in Pokrovsk during the previous fall. The Office of the Prosecutor General reported launching nearly 290,000 criminal cases for unauthorized absence and desertion between February 2022 and September 2025.

Fedorov, appointed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a government reshuffle to prioritize security, identified a funding shortfall of 300 billion hryvnia (approximately $6.9 billion) within the defense ministry. He noted that the 2026 military budget is significantly lower than the 2025 allocation. To combat these failures, Fedorov pledged a comprehensive audit to eliminate "Soviet-style" management and bureaucracy, emphasizing the need to modernize organizational structures to support new technologies, particularly drone brigades.

Despite these systemic struggles, Fedorov highlighted a growing domestic defense sector featuring nearly 500 drone manufacturers and 200 electronic warfare companies. In response to the crisis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Union will dedicate the majority of a large new loan program to support Ukraine's military and economy over the next two years.