Ukraine's intelligence says Russia struggles to employ returning war veterans
Ukraine's foreign intelligence service says Russia is failing to find suitable jobs for veterans returning from the war against Ukraine. Russian employment figures show that most applicants seeking assistance did not find work, while remote-work opportunities were extremely limited.
Key points
- Russian employment services and employers said they prepared 449,000 vacancies for war participants in 2025.
- Only 15,000 war participants sought job-search assistance.
- Of those who sought assistance, 7,800, or 52%, were employed; the rest remained jobless.
- Among 5,000 veterans with disabilities, 2,100, or 42%, found work.
- Of 1,200 veterans with criminal convictions, 638, or 51%, were employed.
- Only 775 of the 449,000 announced vacancies offered remote work, and just six people actually obtained it.
- Russia issued about 215,300 foreign-worker permits from January to September 2026, 21% more than in the same period of 2025.
- Experts estimate Russia's economy will need about 12 million workers by 2032.
Why it matters
The employment difficulties point to broader problems with reintegrating returning service members into Russia's labor market. Most veterans seeking help did not find work, and remote-employment options were scarce. Russia's increased reliance on permits for foreign workers contrasts sharply with the reported difficulty of employing its own returning veterans, while its projected need for millions of workers makes their reintegration economically significant.
What happened
Ukraine's foreign intelligence service said Russia is struggling to provide returning war veterans with employment. In 2025, Russian employment services and employers said they were preparing 449,000 vacancies for war participants, but only 15,000 people sought job-search assistance. Of those, 7,800 were employed, a rate of 52%, while the remainder stayed without work. Among veterans with disabilities, 2,100 out of 5,000 found jobs; among those with criminal convictions, 638 out of 1,200 were employed. Although 775 of the announced vacancies offered remote work, only six people actually obtained it.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian reporting centers on the assessment that Russia lacks an effective approach to employing returning veterans. It presents the contrast between large numbers of announced vacancies, low actual job placement, extremely limited remote work and rising use of foreign labor permits as evidence of the difficulty.
Background
Russian employment services and employers said they were preparing 449,000 vacancies for war participants in 2025, but only 15,000 sought assistance. Ukraine's intelligence service attributed veterans' post-front employment difficulties to Russia's inability to provide suitable jobs. At the same time, Russia issued substantially more permits for foreign citizens to work from January to September 2026 than during the comparable period of 2025.