In mid-June, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry presented details of an army reform that would introduce new contracts, change transfer rules between units, and raise pay for some service members. According to Ukrainska Pravda, the response inside the military was mixed: some welcomed an overdue attempt to change the system, while many others viewed the measures as unfair and incomplete.
Under the plan, infantry and assault troops would receive contracts for 6 to 14 months, while other specialties would get 24-month terms. After completing service, troops would be granted at least six months’ deferment from a new draft. A cumulative deferment system is also being introduced: the longer a person serves and the more often they are deployed to combat positions, the longer the deferment they may receive. Transfers between units are to be simplified, and troops who left their units without authorization will be allowed from June 13 to September 20 to return directly to selected brigades.
The reform also includes new pay levels: 30,000 hryvnias for rear-area specialists, 70,000 for personnel serving at command posts, 150,000 for brigade commanders, 230,000 for corps commanders, and 300,000 to 460,000 hryvnias for infantry and assault troops. But the newspaper’s sources say the reform still does not answer the main question: when those who have served since 2014 or since the start of the full-scale war in 2022 will be able to go home.
Service members interviewed by the publication say that instead of a clear discharge date, they are effectively being asked to serve another 6 to 14 months in infantry roles or two more years in other units, and only then receive a temporary deferment from renewed mobilization.
As the paper notes, the Defense Ministry is not yet prepared to speak about demobilization and at a briefing asked journalists to use the term “discharge” instead. Another contentious issue is the phased discharge of those mobilized earlier, which the authorities say they plan to begin in the fall. The procedure is still being drafted and is expected to require a separate presidential decree. Journalists estimate that only a few thousand people a month could be discharged from Ukraine’s million-strong army, meaning some may wait years for their turn.
Another complaint is that the pay increase is unevenly distributed. Service members say drone operators and rear-area specialists were largely left out. The ministry said larger payments are not possible because of a lack of funds. It also remains unclear how the new rules will interact with existing contracts: according to Ukrainska Pravda, at least 25–30% of Ukrainian military personnel are already serving under various contract arrangements.