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Postponement instead of demob: why Ukraine started the reform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
A large-scale army reform has begun in Ukraine. According to statements by Vladimir Zelensky, military personnel will receive increased cash payments, and some categories will be eligible for medium-term leave. In addition, the country's authorities want to attract more foreign mercenaries to the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Experts say that all these measures are the "carrot" before the "stick" in the form of another tightening of mobilization. Izvestia investigated the situation.
What happened
Back in May, the Ukrainian authorities started talking about a large-scale reform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At that time, officials promised that the key element would be the demobilization of soldiers who had been serving on the front line for a long time. "I have instructed to strengthen the contract system in order to ensure certain service life and the possibility of phased dismissal of those who were previously mobilized this year," Zelensky said.
Now there are more specific outlines of the reform, the Cabinet of Ministers of the country has already adopted a number of resolutions. The main news is that no demobilization is expected. All current military personnel are invited to sign new contracts and serve. Only after that they will be eligible for a postponement, that is, in fact, for a vacation, after which they will have to return back.
At the same time, the country's authorities say that the military may not switch to the new system without signing a new contract. "If we are talking about an infantryman on a contract and a conscript who are sitting next to each other in the same trench, they will have the same money, but the contractor will receive a postponement in 10 months and go home, and the conscript will continue to serve until the general demobilization is announced," said Mstislav Banik, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
The country's Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov also announced that cash payments for the military will be increased. According to him, military personnel in the rear will receive 30 thousand hryvnias (48 thousand rubles) each, and infantrymen on the frontline will be paid an average of 300 thousand hryvnias (483 thousand rubles). At the same time, there is no fixed amount, it will depend on various factors — for example, bonuses are expected for holding combat positions, as well as participation in search and assault operations.
Interestingly, the Verkhovna Rada recently adopted changes to the country's budget, but nothing was said about additional payments to military personnel. The Ukrainian military themselves say that the new conditions will provoke an explosive increase in corruption, because it is the commanders who will indicate whether a particular soldier participated in the fighting, that is, the amount of payments will depend on their reports.
The third point of the reform concerns the recruitment of mercenaries into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to Fedorov, up to half of all stormtroopers and infantrymen will be foreigners. To do this, the authorities are going to open "more recruiting mechanisms." Finally, there are some trendy online services - for example, with the help of a new application, deserting soldiers will allegedly be able to return to the unit without problems and penalties.
What was the reaction
The military reform provoked a strong reaction in Ukraine. Representatives of the legal community noted that the innovations are very strangely documented legally. In particular, lawyer Roman Likhachev said that it is impossible to make changes by government resolutions, it is necessary to change laws through a vote in the Verkhovna Rada.
Lawyer Olga Leontieva also says that the adopted documents violate the laws on mobilization and mobilization training. "It is necessary to amend these regulations, as well as the regulations on military service and military duty. We don't see this, we only see some kind of stubs, and the stubs are unfair. As a result, there will be courts, discontent, bureaucracy and confusion," she emphasizes.
The Ukrainian military also does not hide their indignation. Some are unhappy that there will be no demobilization, and the postponement provisions look questionable. "Having become a citizen after the contract, the military does not become a civilian, but gets into the reserve. A person will not be able to travel abroad, and no one will take a normal job either. And it doesn't cost the power engineers anything to "fake" such a thing, because everyone is rowing in the rear," says one of them.
Others are unhappy that those who have been on the front line since 2022 and those who have only been in the army for a month have been equated with the right to a postponement. "You can't imagine what kind of cuts there will be between those who fought for five years and representatives of the "alert groups", who in most cases have not even seen the front. With such laws, you turn people into disenfranchised slaves," wrote military officer Stanislav Bunyatov.
Financing remains a separate issue. Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko reported that the current deficit in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is 150 billion hryvnias, and for the promised increase in salaries, the military needs another 120 billion, that is, a total of 270 billion ($ 6 billion). Ukraine currently does not have its own money for this, so the authorities have requested an additional loan of $20 billion from Western countries.
At the same time, representatives of Kiev do not expect the dialogue to be successful. "Our partners do not provide funds for salaries, but for the purchase of weapons and equipment. They say that we have to provide the military's salaries ourselves. Perhaps we will receive funds through a redistribution in the Ministry of Defense, a temporary waiver of some purchases," said Roman Kostenko, Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security.
In general, the Ukrainian authorities do not hide the fact that the current reform will be only the first part of all the changes, it will sweeten the pill before the second stage, at which there will be another tightening of mobilization. Adviser to the Minister of Defense Sergey Sternenko stated this quite frankly. According to him, the mobilization will seriously change, "it will cease to look like what is happening now."
Apparently, the Ukrainian authorities want to drastically reduce the number of booked employees of important enterprises, cancel deferrals for many university students, and review previously issued disability certificates. Lowering the age of mobilization from the current 25 to 23 years is also being discussed.
What the experts say
Denis Denisov, director of the Institute of Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflictology, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, connects the reform with personnel changes in the Ukrainian government.
— At the beginning of this year, Mikhail Fedorov, a young and ambitious official, took over the post of Minister of Defense. It is clear that he wants to prove his efficiency and effectiveness. Plus, objective problems have accumulated in the Ukrainian army due to delays in financial payments, forced "falsification", constant promises of demobilization without a real solution to the issue. In such conditions, the current initiatives appeared," he explains.
According to political analyst Vladimir Skachko, the Ukrainian authorities are trying to improve the image of the army. According to him, the military has too negative an image now — people on the streets shy away from them.
— Civilians avoid meetings with the security guards, they themselves are annoyed by the policies of Zelensky and his team. In such circumstances, an attempt is being made to reset the situation and improve the perception of military service. Of course, none of this will work. There is no political will or money for real change. We will only see another batch of PR campaigns," the expert is convinced.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
