There’ll be no other mobilisation reform. We’ve got only one chance — Ukraine’s Defence Ministry

“We have only one chance to implement this reform. Just one. There will never be another mobilisation reform in this war. There will be no other pay reform. There will be no other reform regarding deferments and everything else,” said the Deputy Minister of Defence.

According to him, “the reform has not stalled”. The ministry is currently working on all the details of the first stage, and in parallel, work is underway on the second stage of the reform.

When discussing the reform, Banik emphasised that the Ministry of Defence aims to provide service personnel with “fair pay”, so journalists asked whether the Ministry of Defence considers a salary of 30,000 UAH (~$700) to be a fair reward for military personnel in the rear.

“We would love to offer a higher salary, like 100,000 hryvnias. But we have to work within the resources we have, and, in this case, this is already a 50% increase on the current salary. After the operation in Kursk, I was a second lieutenant and was earning just over 20,000 UAH. I realised that was a complete disaster, and I understand that it is very difficult to live on that kind of money. But we have to work with the resources we have,” replied the Deputy Minister.

According to him, the pay rise for Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel will be funded from the Ministry of Defence’s budget. However, Banik declined to specify the total budget required to increase military personnel’s pay.

The Ministry of Defence also stated that it considers the terms of the new contracts to be fair, as the length of deferment from military service will increase depending on the service member’s previous length of service.

“In other words, the person who has been serving the longest and signs a contract will subsequently have the longest deferment from service,” said Banik.

Banik added that deferment means effective discharge from the military and does not entail a return to one’s former post.

“This is not a long-term leave of absence; it is a full discharge from the military. A deferment means that during the period of service credited to you, the Territorial Centre of Recruitment has no right to stop you, and you cannot be subject to the next mobilisation. Accordingly, the question of what rank you will hold and where you will serve in the army will arise for some in a year and a half, for others in five years,” added the representative of the Ministry of Defence.

According to him, new contracts can be signed as early as today.

The Deputy Minister added that those who do not sign contracts will continue their service until the general demobilisation. At the same time, pay will be the same for both contract personnel and conscripts.

“In other words, if we’re talking about a contract infantryman and a conscript sitting side by side in the same trench — financially, everything will be the same, except that the contract soldier will go home in 10 months and will be granted a deferment, whilst the conscript will continue to serve until general demobilisation is announced,” he added.

At the same time, the Deputy Minister stressed that demobilisation is not currently on the agenda, as it is “only possible after the war has ended”.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry announced a new military reform, which increases salaries and adds bonuses for military operations, and offers more clear terms of service.

According to the new reform, the average salary for infantry personnel will be increased up to 300,000 UAH (~$7000). The military will also be offered 10, 14, and 24-month contracts and deferments.