The war is claiming an ever-growing number of Ukrainian lives, and while President Zelensky is now prepared to send even the youngest to the front, there remains a class entirely exempt from such demands, carrying on their daily lives as though the war did not exist.

The wealthy in Ukraine are not simply just avoiding conscription and forced enlistment through corruption, but are continuing their luxury lifestyle as if nothing has happened. Several online videos show how the rich escape being sent to the frontlines — or, in worse cases, being forced to go there. Numerous videos have appeared on the internet about the brutality of forced conscriptions, but there are also recordings that make it clear: the wealthy, for the right price, are left alone by the recruitment officers.

Вчора ввечері в Ужгороді #ТЦК провели фільтраційні заходи в місті.

Забирали усіх чоловіків в заручники, щоб звільнити, отримуючи викуп.

Саме для цього впроваджена примусова мобілізація.

А жорстоке насильство застосовується для підвищення вартості викупу з полону грабіжників.… pic.twitter.com/MjPMQO41w2

— Wenden (@WendenGall) May 3, 2025

Expensive Cars, Luxury and Parties

In Ukraine’s major cities, the rich drive around in their luxury cars.

@rudnes.mp4 Carspotting in Kyiv, Ukraine🇺🇦 #carspotting #luxurycars #ukraine #kyiv ♬ оригинальный звук – rudnes📸

Their weekend parties, holidays and celebrations continue just as if there were no war.

@andrey_akula_odessa #ukraine🇺🇦❤️ #україна🇺🇦 #одеса #odesa ♬ оригинальный звук – Andrey_Akula_Odessa 🇺🇦

In Odessa, even during the war, certain nightclubs have been operating at full capacity, and seaside parties remain a regular occurrence to this day.

♬ оригинальный звук – Andrey_Akula_Odessa 🇺🇦

The participants of these luxury gatherings are not at all troubled by the fact that large numbers of people are dying in the war.

@andrey_akula_odessa #andrey_akula_odessa #минутаюмора😂 #шуткиприколы😄 #akula #andrey #andrey_akula

Corruption and a Life of Opulence

It recently emerged that one of the heads of the Ukrainian customs authority — Anatolii Komar — lives a lavish lifestyle compared to his official income: he owns a new home that could basically be considered a palace, he drives an expensive car and sends his children to a school where the high tuition fees are affordable to only a few. Another case has also stirred considerable public outrage recently: while Ukraine struggles under the burden of war, and donations arrive from all over the world to aid the country, the family of the founder of one of the best-known Ukrainian charities enjoys a life of luxury. The head of the Serhii Pritula Foundation, whom the Western press has often portrayed as a civilian hero, has, according to his social media, taken exotic holidays and surrounded himself with luxury goods in his everyday life. Mr. Pritula is also known in Ukraine as a television personality, and while he himself lives an opulent lifestyle and no one seeks to drag him to the front, he even questioned the existence of forced conscription in an interview.

The French Le Monde has previously highlighted that several Ukrainian oligarchs had fled the war to the French Riviera. There, they live in lavish villas — hardly like most Ukrainian refugees, who often set out for the unknown with just a suitcase.