Most Ukrainian soldiers can hold a frontline position for about a month before they start to break down. After the first month, 60% report signs of exhaustion, and by day 60 it is eight in ten, according to a study by Ukraine’s Office of the Military Ombudsperson, which found the worst stressor is not shelling but the lack of water and supplies, the office said.

Ukraine’s shortage of trained reserves has left many soldiers holding the same ground far past the point of effectiveness, some for months without relief. The office found that after 60 days a position stops being a combat mission and becomes “survival while waiting for rotation,” and it has drawn up a protocol to limit how long troops are left there.

After 60 days, the job becomes survival

The study, conducted in June and July 2026, surveyed 1,616 soldiers and 174 commanders at the company, battalion, and brigade levels. The effective time limit for a position is, for most, one month.

The office also reviewed 853 complaints about long deployments from soldiers and their families between January and September, with an average duration of 115 days.

Water, not shelling, is the worst of it

The most stressful factor was not Russian fire but the lack of water: 83% of those surveyed called its impact critical, and 76% cited the absence of resupply. Soldiers also pointed to not understanding the situation, comrades killed on or near the position, isolation, poorly built positions, being unable to leave cover, and losing contact with commanders.

The common symptoms were disrupted sleep, bursts of anger, constant anxiety, and physical effects including muscle atrophy, the office said, and one in five admitted that on position they thought they “wouldn’t get out alive.”

The longer the stint, the deeper the damage

After long deployments, 60% needed more than two weeks to recover, and one in four said they never fully did. The toll was heaviest among those left 180 days or more without rotation: in that group, 48.7% could not fully recover, 17.3% reported thoughts of self-harm, and 46.9% had thought of a wound as a way out.

The office said the findings call for an overhaul of psychological, tactical, and medical training, and that it has built a draft “Position Assessment Protocol” with commanders, now before the high command.