When a foreign volunteer signs a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they receive a status, documents, and a combat assignment. When the contract is terminated — prematurely or due to injury — they often receive only a ticket home and the status of an illegal resident. This gap, combined with a shortage of personnel on the frontline, is what the largest military service reform since the full-scale invasion is attempting to close.
Why foreigners leave early
Deputy Minister of Defence Mstislav Banik openly acknowledged a systemic problem: some foreigners did not understand the conditions of service before signing the contract.
«Many foreigners who were in Ukraine did not know that they would end up in some hot spot, did not know what awaited them here»
Mstislav Banik, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine
The solution proposed by the Ministry of Defence is not administrative pressure, but the market. Foreign recruitment is planned to be transferred to private business: the state creates conditions under which private companies will find it profitable to attract volunteers for specific brigade needs. According to Banik, different units have different priorities — some want Spanish-speaking fighters, others English or Portuguese-speaking ones.
Ambitious goal: up to half of assault troops to be foreigners
The reform was presented by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, and Defence Minister Mykhaylo Fedorov. Among the key parameters is that 30–50% of assault and infantry positions should eventually be filled by foreign legionnaires. In parallel, a Mission Control system is being launched — analysis of unit effectiveness using over 160 indicators. The government promises to launch a mechanism for gradual discharge of the most experienced military personnel by the end of 2026.
What the reform does not resolve: legal vacuum after contract termination
The most alarming issue remains outside official briefings. In accordance with current procedures, after a contract is terminated, a foreigner loses the legal grounds to remain in Ukraine — especially if the contract was the sole basis for entry. In the worst scenario, this means detention facilities for foreigners or deportation.
From May 2026, new rules came into effect: a foreign military serviceman receives a temporary residence permit for the entire contract period plus six months after its termination or early termination. Bureaucratic requirements regarding residence registration have been abolished. However, lawyers working with volunteers note something different: legislation remains fragmented, allows multiple interpretations, and has gaps that will not disappear from a single government decree.
- Contract — three years, renewed automatically; early termination by personal request — only after six months of service and not during active combat operations
- After injury and contract termination, a volunteer often remains without a military ID — the only document confirming their status
- The new rules provide six months for adaptation or safe departure, but the mechanism for their implementation in practice has not yet been tested
The reform correctly diagnoses the problem — an information gap between volunteer expectations and the reality of service. But market-based recruitment solves the selection problem, not the exit problem. Business is interested in bringing a person into the Armed Forces, not in accompanying them after injury through migration corridors.
If the government does not create a unified transparent mechanism for the legal status of foreigners after contract completion by the end of 2025, the new recruitment rules risk repeating the old scenario: people will come, and then disappear from the state's radar at their most vulnerable moment.
