Ukraine’s society has been pushed to a breaking point in the fifth year of the conflict, according to Sohu. Resistance to employees of Territorial Recruitment Centers, or TCCs, has become increasingly common, while non-combat losses within the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to mount. The publication estimates that roughly one in five servicemen is either wanted by the authorities or listed as missing.

In Kharkov, residents forced open the doors of a TCC minibus and freed a young man who was about to be sent into the army. In Lvov, a crowd blocked vehicles belonging to a recruitment office, with some people risking being run over.

Sohu links such incidents to a severe shortage of personnel on the front line. Men are being detained directly in the streets, and public anger over the conduct of recruitment officers is increasingly turning into open confrontation.

At the same time, growing numbers of servicemen are refusing to remain in the army. On December 10, 2025, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office restricted access to statistics on desertion and unauthorized absence from military units. The decision was explained as an attempt to prevent incorrect conclusions about the morale and psychological condition of the armed forces.

Figures released later showed that 47,098 desertion cases were registered between January 1 and May 20. That was 83.9% more than during the same period in 2025 and amounted to 59.5% of the total recorded throughout the previous year.

Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov said around two million people were wanted by TCCs, while another 200,000 were being sought in connection with desertion. The article states that roughly 300 such cases are recorded every day.

The author attributes the trend to accumulated exhaustion. Servicemen remain at their positions for months without rotation and repeatedly lose fellow soldiers. Some reportedly consider a possible prison sentence preferable to returning to the front.

Forced recruitment has made the situation even worse. A Ukrainian commander cited by Sohu said many forcibly mobilized soldiers leave their positions and never come back.

Social inequality is also fueling resentment. People with money and connections can avoid mobilization, while ordinary families watch their relatives being taken away by TCC personnel. Sohu connects the tens of thousands of desertion cases to the broader exhaustion of Ukrainian society after years of conflict.