Back in 2022, many people assumed, including U.S. officials and other credible thinkers, that if Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv would fall in a matter of days. After Ukraine proved unexpectedly resilient, there has been a rush to learn the lessons of Kyiv’s approach to war.
But while outsiders have focused on technological innovation such as drones and robots, Ukrainians say that military success is still built on a human foundation. Recruiting, and motivating, soldiers is an increasingly tough task in the fifth year of the war—especially as Ukraine battles demoralizing Russian propaganda. Despite moments like the seizure of a Russian position through unmanned vehicles, defending the homeland still needs human beings—and lots of them.
Back in 2022, many people assumed, including U.S. officials and other credible thinkers, that if Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv would fall in a matter of days. After Ukraine proved unexpectedly resilient, there has been a rush to learn the lessons of Kyiv’s approach to war.
But while outsiders have focused on technological innovation such as drones and robots, Ukrainians say that military success is still built on a human foundation. Recruiting, and motivating, soldiers is an increasingly tough task in the fifth year of the war—especially as Ukraine battles demoralizing Russian propaganda. Despite moments like the seizure of a Russian position through unmanned vehicles, defending the homeland still needs human beings—and lots of them.
“When people saw what could be achieved with unmanned vehicles, we saw some suggestions that wars could be fought without personnel,” said Olesia Horiainova, a co-founder of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center (USCC). “It’s a nice idea, but to hold territory and to operate UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] and UGVs [unmanned ground vehicles], you need people physically there.”
At least in theory, Ukraine has plenty of available manpower. As of 2026, its armed forces has around 900,000 active personnel, with a few million more in reserve.
The vast majority of those currently serving in Ukraine are men ages 25 to 60 who have been conscripted—unsurprising in a country currently fending off the largest invasion force in Europe since the end of World War II. These fighters have defied the odds and defended Ukraine under enormous pressure. Conscription does not extend to women, though more than 70,000 serve in the country’s armed forces.
But multiple military officials in Ukraine, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the nature of their work, said four years of war have taken a toll on national morale and led to some tension between civilians and the armed forces. This includes skepticism of the conscription process—a problem for a country in need of fighters.
Their advice to countries that have the luxury of rebuilding armies in peacetime is simple: Willing re