For the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Ukraine’s leadership is openly discussing letting soldiers go home while the war is still raging.
Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told TSN this week that Kyiv hopes to start discharging its longest-serving troops by late autumn of 2026. That’s roughly a year and a half from now, and it’s causing quite a stir.
The criteria will be pretty straightforward: how many days you’ve served, and how many of those were actual combat days. If you’ve been in uniform since 2014, that counts too. That’s a big deal because it means the veterans who were fighting in the Donbas region even before the full-scale invasion will finally get a path out.
Here’s what makes this news worth paying attention to. Ukraine suspended its normal discharge rules under martial law the moment Russia invaded. Troops were essentially locked in until the war ended or the government declared full demobilization. No one knew when that would be. For some soldiers who joined in the opening months of the invasion, that meant over four straight years of fighting with barely any time at home.
The political pressure has been immense. Lawmakers tried passing a measure that would automatically discharge troops after three years, but it got dropped in 2024. You can imagine how popular that was with exhausted soldiers and their families. The issue became a lightning rod, with troops wondering if anyone in Kyiv was listening.
Now the approach is more phased. Fedorov mentioned releasing waves of soldiers every month, with the exact numbers depending on how things are going on the battlefield and whether Russia announces another mobilization drive. The logic is simple: you can’t just empty the front lines overnight, but you also can’t keep people in combat indefinitely.
The new military contracts announced last week offer higher pay and clearly defined roles, which helps with recruitment. But the discharge window is what soldiers really wanted to hear. Fedorov even promised that if someone signs a new contract but later qualifies for discharge, the discharge takes precedence.
It’s a small crack opening in a very long siege. Over 1,500 days of war will do that, grinding down even the most determined fighters. Whether late 2026 actually brings soldiers home in significant numbers remains uncertain, but at least now there’s a timeline, however vague.
The war continues, but for the first time, there’s a realistic sense that the end of someone’s service might actually come before the final gunshot.
