One and a half million men have not updated their data with recruitment centers, and about 300,000 have deserted or gone AWOL

About 1.5 million men of conscription age in Ukraine have not updated their military registration data and are effectively wanted by the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers (TCC and SS).

This was stated by Member of Parliament from the “Servant of the People” party Halyna Yanchenko.

“You’ll be surprised — this is, again, just cosmic. One and a half million men of conscription age haven’t updated their data. So what does that mean? It means they’re wanted,” she said.

According to the politician, if such men are stopped by representatives of the territorial recruitment centers, they are immediately entered into the military registration system.

“If such men are stopped by the TCC — that’s it, hello Desna [training center], military training bases. Even if they want to work at a defense enterprise where they could get a deferment, they first have to go through a military medical commission (MMC). And that’s exactly where TCC representatives are waiting for them. It’s a vicious circle: defense companies lack workers, and millions of men are left without official employment,” Yanchenko explained.

She noted that the problem should be resolved by a bill passed by the Verkhovna Rada on temporary deferment from mobilization for men working at defense enterprises who have issues with their military registration documents.

“This bill allows defense enterprises, if they are interested in a certain employee — even if he has problems with updated data — to temporarily reserve him for 45 days. During this time, he must pass the military medical commission, complete all necessary procedures, and then he can be officially assigned to the enterprise,” Yanchenko said.

According to her, this gives the Ukrainian defense sector access to 1.5 million potential employees, and for those people — a chance to return to active economic life in the country.

The document has already been signed by the Speaker of the Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, and now awaits President Volodymyr Zelensky’s signature.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Prosecutor General reported that over the past year, twice as many servicemen have gone AWOL as during the first two and a half years of the war. In total, since the start of the full-scale conflict, almost 290,000 criminal cases have been opened for unauthorized absence and desertion.

From January 2022 to September 2024, 90,000 cases were opened — meaning another 200,000 were added in the past year alone.

These figures confirm estimates made by military analyst Ihor Lutsenko and MP Maryana Bezuhla, who both claim that the real number of soldiers going AWOL is much higher than official records show.

It should be recalled that the bill on deferment from mobilization for employees of critical enterprises with problems in registration documents does not exempt them from fines or criminal liability.