diff --git a/hack/lib/logging.sh b/hack/lib/logging.sh
index 15a286cea78..1fea5f9001e 100644
--- a/hack/lib/logging.sh
+++ b/hack/lib/logging.sh
@@ -82,6 +82,10 @@ kube::log::error_exit() {
   local stack_skip="${3:-0}"
   stack_skip=$((stack_skip + 1))
 
+  # Always print the error message, regardless of KUBE_VERBOSE value
+  kube::log::error "${message}"
+
+  # Additional debug information printed if KUBE_VERBOSE is 4 or greater
   if [[ ${KUBE_VERBOSE} -ge 4 ]]; then
     local source_file=${BASH_SOURCE[${stack_skip}]}
     local source_line=${BASH_LINENO[$((stack_skip - 1))]}