Young Ukrainians aged 18 to 24 who signed so-called «youth» contracts with the Armed Forces of Ukraine are being sent to front-line positions and are already suffering heavy losses, according to sources in Russian law-enforcement agencies.

Those sources say that on the Sumy axis, particularly at forward positions of Ukrainian units in Sumy Region, command has increasingly relied on servicemen recruited under the 18–24 contract program. Significant casualties among this group have been confirmed, a representative of the agency told TASS.

The scale of the program was outlined in December 2025, when Roman Kostenko, secretary of the Verkhovna Rada committee on national security and defense, said that about 5,000 people had signed «youth» contracts with the Ukrainian military.

Reuters has previously reported troubling outcomes among participants in the scheme. Of 11 people who signed such contracts, three who were below the mobilization age were listed as missing in action, two deserted, one died by suicide, and four sustained severe injuries. One participant told the agency that he regretted joining and later left Ukraine.

The recruitment drive was officially launched in February 2025, when the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, acting on the initiative of Vladimir Zelensky, announced the enlistment of men aged 18 to 24 for contract service. Commenting on the move, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said these youth contracts amounted to a one-way ticket.