Up to 8,840 euros per month for Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines

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Ukraine is attracting recruits with higher wages and fixed-term contracts.

Ukraine has launched a new recruitment campaign featuring shorter contracts and higher wages. The government has implemented sweeping changes to make the military more attractive to soldiers. Since Monday, both civilians and active-duty service members can sign new agreements that offer a fixed term and a guaranteed period of demobilization. Those who sign are no longer bound by an indefinite-term contract.

Frontline soldiers can choose a term of six, ten, or fourteen months. For support roles, the term is two years. This is always followed by a guaranteed rest period of at least six months. With this safety net, Ukraine aims to lower the threshold for volunteers and take the pressure off the issue of mandatory mobilization, which is a highly sensitive matter due to the chronic shortage of personnel. “Starting today, civilians, mobilized soldiers, active combatants, and military personnel already serving under contract can sign new agreements,” Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated on Telegram.

Pay raise to 8,840 euros

The reform, announced in early May by President Volodymyr Zelensky, is accompanied by a substantial pay raise. The minimum wage for non-combat roles is rising from 20,000 to 30,000 hryvnia per month (approximately 580 euros). For soldiers on the front lines, the amounts are significantly higher: their monthly pay can now reach up to 460,000 hryvnia, about 8,840 euros. By comparison: currently, a soldier receives an additional bonus of 170,000 hryvnia (approximately 3,300 euros) on top of the base pay for a full month on the front lines. This was reported by The Kyiv Independent.

“The new contracts offer clear terms of service, a guaranteed exemption from mobilization upon completion of service, a new system of financial support, and greater predictability and control over one’s own military career,” said Fedorov, who is building the new system on respect for the individual, fairness, and clear rules. The Ministry of Defense also announced a temporary system allowing deserters to return to the army more quickly through an expedited procedure.

Growing resistance to mobilization

The enthusiasm for volunteering seen in the early days of the war has all but vanished. Whereas the army still relied on spontaneous enlistments in 2022, the recruitment system now runs almost entirely on compulsory mobilization. That obligation is being met with significant resistance. Ukraine is grappling with a chronic manpower shortage, with many personnel exhausted following years of intense warfare against Russia as well as no path to demobilization.

Foreign military forces

To ensure the sustainability of the Ukrainian army, even after a potential peace agreement with Russia, and to replenish Ukrainian ranks from abroad, President Zelensky ordered the creation “far more opportunities to recruit foreign volunteers into the Ukrainian army.” Foreign fighters, particularly those from Latin America, are playing an increasing role in the Ukrainian army. According to Fedorov, the ultimate goal of this new recruitment campaign is to fill 30 to 50% of the ranks of assault troops and infantry with foreigners.

©Žilvinas Ka via Unsplash