Overview
- President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined sharp raises for troops, with front-line infantry set to earn 250,000–400,000 hryvnias per month and non-combat roles paid at least 30,000.
- Kyiv will scrap open-ended service and move to fixed-term contracts that include paths to demobilize long-serving troops after months at the front and widespread desertion and draft evasion reported by officials.
- Military chief Oleksandr Syrsky ordered limits on front duty, capping time in front positions at up to two months with a mandatory rotation within one month.
- Zelensky pledged to end “busification,” the practice of recruiters detaining men in public and loading them into vans, and to rely on contract-based recruitment.
- How to pay for the higher wage bill remains unclear, though one report notes the EU approved a €90 billion loan in April that may allow Kyiv to fund the army directly.