After more than four years of a war that has claimed tens, if not hundreds of thousands of lives, Ukrainian forces are looking for new ways of recruitment.
Ukraine is launching a “military reform” that should introduce a phased demobilization and significantly higher salaries for soldiers engaged on the front line, announced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. Zelensky wants “strengthening the contract system in the defense forces” so that “clearly defined service duration conditions are guaranteed and that a phased demobilization becomes possible for those mobilized earlier this year”.
He did not provide more details on this measure, which is highly demanded as the current legislation allows demobilization only after the lifting of martial law, in effect since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022. The Ukrainian president also wants a significant salary increase: “the minimum level should be at least 30,000 hryvnias (about 580 euros) for non-combat positions” against the current 20,000 hryvnias (390 euros) according to the Ministry of Defense.
Almost all new recruits are mobilized
For combat positions, the payment should be “several times higher”, he indicated, mentioning monthly payments “between 250,000 and 400,000 hryvnias” in the infantry (between 4,850 and 7,770 euros). Currently, a soldier fighting on the front line for a month receives an additional payment of 170,000 hryvnias (3,300 euros). The details of this reform are expected to be finalized in May, “and the first results should be achieved in June”, said Volodymyr Zelensky.
Today, almost all new recruits are mobilized, a highly sensitive subject in the country, with many Ukrainians considering the system, riddled with scandals, unfair, corrupt, and ineffective. Authorities have tried several measures to encourage new recruits to sign contracts, such as a contract with financial incentives for 18-24 year olds and opening recruitment offices for Ukrainians abroad, which have not had the desired effect.
