Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he plans to appeal to European allies to ask for help in raising the salaries of Ukrainian servicemen. This is allegedly being done to reduce the threat of a growing shortage of recruits. Can the military expect an increase in payments and how much do they currently receive - in the UNN material.
Monetary allowance for servicemen - 2025
Bloomberg reports that the mobilization campaign in Ukraine is becoming increasingly unpopular among the population. In this regard, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government wants to encourage more volunteers by offering significant payments to those who sign military contracts.
The publication notes that Russia has long offered large signing bonuses and high salaries to attract tens of thousands of people to its army every month, seeking to avoid a repeat of the surge in public anxiety when Russian dictator Vladimir Putin ordered a partial conscription a few months after the invasion began in 2022.
It should be understood that increasing payments will increase the burden on Ukraine's state budget, whose deficit last year exceeded 20% of gross domestic product amid huge military expenditures. The war-torn country depends on tens of billions of dollars in aid from its Western partners, who still reject the idea of directly covering military expenditures.
Zelenskyy said he had begun discussions on the matter with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as with American officials.
Military salaries will be reduced
People's Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak, while communicating with journalists, stated that the draft State Budget for 2026 allocates less funds for military salaries than this year.
"Approximately 280 billion less is planned to be allocated for military salaries in 2026 than in the current year," Zheleznyak said.
He added that the reduction will affect not only arms purchases, but also the financing of servicemen. Some servicemen will continue to receive low wages. The MP added that negotiations with the EU are currently underway to cover the budget deficit.
How much do servicemen currently receive?
The first part of the salary is influenced by the rank and branch of service of the serviceman. The higher the position, the higher the payments. For example, a recruit's salary is about 20 thousand hryvnias, in contrast to 10 thousand in 2022. The largest basic salaries are for commanders and their deputies - they range from 50 to 60 thousand hryvnias.
Salary allowances may vary depending on where the serviceman serves.
The closer to the front line a serviceman serves, the higher the combat payments. Soldiers who perform tasks according to combat orders are paid 30 thousand hryvnias in addition to their salary. The same amount is paid to those who clear mines. Servicemen who perform tasks in headquarters and command, manage units, are paid an additional 50 thousand hryvnias.
If a serviceman is on the front line, he receives an additional payment of 70 thousand hryvnias. And a salary of 100 thousand hryvnias is accrued to servicemen who directly participate in combat operations.
Increase in military salaries
Oleksandr Fediienko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, a people's deputy, told UNN that there are currently between 800,000 and one million military personnel in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Among them, up to 200,000 are on the line of combat engagement. Raising salaries for all these people could hit the economy.
As of today, we are holding consultations, as a specialized committee, regarding salary increases, but the question here is the size of the army. There are data - some say a million, some 800 thousand. This is what is in the open media. It is also important how many servicemen are in the zone of combat operations directly on the front line. Open sources say 100-200 thousand. If we raise salaries for everyone, will our economy withstand it?
Fediienko drew attention to the fact that there is currently a sharp problem regarding where to get money to raise military salaries. He clarified that Ukraine's partners do not provide money for such needs.
We need to get money somewhere. Our partners actually don't give us this money for the war, but for various economic things and so on. Our economy is in a difficult situation and there are no signs that it will improve. Therefore, the main question remains: where to get the money?
Military allowances
Also, according to Fediienko, currently the monetary receipts for servicemen range from 150 to 250 thousand hryvnias. At the same time, this is not a salary - it is about various allowances. In this context, the question arises of how the allowances of servicemen on the line of combat engagement (LBE) and those currently in the rear should differ.
"I always ask servicemen on the line of combat engagement: are you satisfied with your salary? More precisely, it's not a salary, it's allowances - from 150 to 250 thousand hryvnias. These are real cases that I encountered, actually communicating with the guys from the personnel. Raising salaries is not a problem - the question is: where to get the money. And will the economy withstand it. And the question of fairness: what about servicemen who do not want to go to war, but consider themselves fighting servicemen?" - Fediienko added.
Accrual of allowances for servicemen
The MP also emphasized that a way out of the situation could be to adhere to a bonus system in favor of servicemen who are on the LBE. This balance can be achieved taking into account the budget.
"We must maintain a balance. This is not about salary, but about a bonus system that is distributed in favor of those servicemen who are directly fighting. And perhaps this balance, taking into account the budget, will be enough to cover their expenses," Fediienko explained.
He also added that in addition to raising military salaries, one should not forget about compensation for the families of fallen soldiers. These are also significant sums that need to be found somewhere.
"No one, by the way, talks about the fallen, whose relatives need to be given 15 million. Where to get such money? Everyone is interested in military salaries, and few talk about the fallen. And they exist. Fewer than the Russians, but they exist," Oleksandr Fediienko noted.
Threat to military spending financing
At the same time, the MP suggested that, despite the difficult situation, the financing of military expenditures is not under threat, and there is no reason to talk about a crisis in this area.
As for fears that the financing of military expenditures is generally under threat, from what I see in the budget committee, I have not heard of such a thing there. We do not have such a crisis now