Complaints about conscripts’ rights rise sharply as “busification” spreads. Authorities push reluctant men to serve, while new contracts and incentives for recruits await legislative approval.
From January 1 to October 29, 2025, nearly 5,000 complaints were received regarding violations of conscripts’ rights by TCR and law enforcement personnel during mobilization. In all of 2024, over 3,400 such complaints were filed. In 2023, the ombudsman received over 500 appeals, and in 2022 — only 18, according to a statement from the ombudsman’s office to Ukrainska Pravda.
Information about “busification” spreads through social media and news at lightning speed. Videos and photos showing TCR servicemen forcing men into “buses of resilience” provide additional fuel for draft dodgers.
As grim as it sounds, volunteers ran out back in 2022. To meet mobilization targets, the authorities now have to work with men who are determined to avoid service. This is not about fairness toward volunteers, but those still outside the military must be encouraged to fulfill their civic and constitutional duty through various “perks.”
Member of the Verkhovna Rada Defense Committee Iryna Friz believes a “motivation package” for new recruits is needed. For example, it could include mortgage and business loan discounts, increased bonuses for destroying Russian equipment on the battlefield, and one-time payments for contract soldiers.
A draft law listing additional payments for both new and active servicemen has sat in the Rada for nearly two years because the Cabinet cannot find funding.
Friz also notes that setting clear service terms during martial law would be a “key marker” for both current soldiers and those about to be mobilized.
On the evening of November 3, 2025, Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that the Ministry of Defense had begun preparing new types of contracts. The main “innovation” is the introduction of clear service terms. Contracts lasting 2–5 years will include a one-year deferment from mobilization after service completion.
“Once the legislative changes are adopted, all defenders will be able to sign contracts—both those already serving and those joining in the future,” Shmyhal clarified.
It’s worth remembering: the Ministry of Defense promised to draft legislation on clear service terms in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Each time, military leadership opposed it, arguing that releasing large numbers of experienced soldiers without replenishing units with new recruits would force commanders to pull forces from the front lines. Whether the Ministry of Defense can finally implement this fix remains to be seen.
