MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/. The number of men wanted in Ukraine for draft evasion has reached 2 million, Mikhail Fedorov, a candidate for the country’s Defense Minister, said at a session of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament). The Verkhovna Rada subsequently approved his candidacy.

"I want to be a realist, not a populist. I am taking over the Defense Ministry with a 300 billion [hryvnias] deficit (over $6.9 billion - TASS), 2 million Ukrainians wanted, and 200,000 personnel AWOL," he said.

Amid widespread desertion and AWOL, which often occur while mobilized soldiers are still in their training units, a market for illegal services for evading military service has developed In Ukraine. According to criminal case files, organizing desertion costs over $7,000.

Since February 2022, Ukraine has declared and repeatedly extended general mobilization. Initially, men aged 27 to 60 were subject to conscription; in April 2024, the age of mobilization was lowered to 25. On May 18 of that year, a law tightening mobilization regulations came into force. Videos of forced mobilization surface on social networks almost daily, showing military enlistment officers grabbing men on the streets, in cafes, gyms and other public places. Occasionally, beatings of people in military enlistment offices come to light. Men try to avoid being sent to the front by any means necessary, buying disability certificates, "enrolling" in universities, or attempting, often at risk to their lives, to illegally cross the border. According to TASS estimates, more than 200,000 people deserted from the Ukrainian armed forces in 2025.