The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is encouraging young men to join the army with cheeseburgers

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is attempting to encourage young men to enlist by promoting cheeseburgers.

A recruitment video with a culinary twist appeared on the ministry’s official TikTok account.

The video explains that with a one-million-hryvnia enlistment bonus available for young people aged 18 to 24 under a youth contract, one could buy 15,000 cheeseburgers.

“How many cheeseburgers can you buy for one million hryvnias? Yes, this is indeed the TikTok of the Ministry of Defense. And yes, this is a very important question. One cheeseburger costs 64 hryvnias. For a million, you can get 15,625 cheeseburgers. But I’m not suggesting you buy cheeseburgers for a million. I’m suggesting something else: earn a million… Too bad I’m not 18,” says a man in the video while unwrapping and eating a sandwich.

The campaign received heavy criticism in the comments, with users condemning both the idea of using cheeseburgers as a recruitment incentive and the youth contracts, which many see as unfair compared to the conditions of long-serving soldiers or older recruits.

“Spend a day in the trenches, and you’ll never want that million. Or look at the disabled veterans—it’s not worth it,” one comment reads.

Another user pointed out the ministry’s alleged failure to pay promised bonuses to cadets: “You can’t even pay the new bonuses you promised to cadets, and this million doesn’t apply to them, even though they voluntarily joined the army to serve Ukraine.”