Military leave: what changes in the law signed by the President - expert explanation

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law regarding the right to guaranteed leave for military personnel and an additional 14 days of rest. What exactly has changed and how it will work in practice is explained specifically for UNN by the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation.

What happened?

On July 31, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill that guarantees military personnel a minimum of 15 out of 30 days of annual basic leave, reinstates 14 days of additional leave for combatants, and introduces educational leave for contract soldiers under the "18-24" program. The President has already signed the law.

An important nuance – the changes will come into force one month after official publication.

The right to rest is not about weakness, but about effectiveness. This is how wars of attrition are won: people must return to duty refreshed and motivated.

The decision was developed by the Office of the President (Deputy Head Pavlo Palisa, Presidential Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Military Personnel Olha Reshetylova), the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

What exactly has changed?

The changes are as follows:

• guaranteed 15 days. A serviceman must use at least 15 days out of 30 days of basic annual leave (they can only refuse at their own request). The remaining up to 30 days – depending on the unit's capabilities;
• additional 14 days for combatants reinstated. Combatants can again receive additional leave lasting 14 calendar days with the commander's permission. During martial law, this norm was effectively not in effect;
• educational leave. Contract soldiers under the “18-24” program who are pursuing higher education without interruption from service have the right to leave for taking exams.

How will this work in practice?

The following is envisioned:

• the commander forms a schedule so that no more than 30% of the personnel of a certain category are on leave at the same time, meaning at least 70% of people must remain in the unit;
• basic leave can be granted in parts, but the minimum continuous part is 15 days (now guaranteed);
• every war veteran (and combatants are currently equated in rights to war veterans) has the right to receive additional leave with salary preservation for a period of 14 calendar days per year;
• a separate type of leave – up to 10 days for family circumstances.

Guaranteed 15 days of annual leave for every serviceman, the return of 14 days of additional leave for combatants, and the right to educational leave for "18-24" contract soldiers – this is an element of combat readiness and an honest social contract between the state and the people who protect us.

Addition

People's Deputy, member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence Fedir Venislavskyi stated in February of this year that the VR committee is working on the possibility of introducing additional and mandatory leaves for military personnel.

In June, Venislavskyi indicated that due to the situation at the front, there was currently no basis to talk about demobilization, or the discharge of large numbers of military personnel.