The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has decided to change the rules for granting deferments to military personnel who have completed service under old three-year contracts. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Defense Mykhailo Baniuk at a meeting with journalists.
Deferment for those whose contracts are expiring
According to Baniuk, military personnel whose three-year contracts are expiring soon will have the opportunity to obtain a six-month deferment immediately after the end of their term of service. This means that such individuals will not be automatically transferred to the category of reservists the day after their contract expires.
"Another thing we have done is that people who currently have, for example, three-year contracts, whose contracts will expire, I don't know, tomorrow, this person will be able to receive a 6-month deferment after the expiration of that contract," the Deputy Minister explained.
New contract system: fairness through experience
Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov previously announced the introduction of a new military service contract system, where the duration of the guaranteed deferment will depend directly on combat experience and length of service. The main principle of the new model is taking into account the path traveled by each soldier: the longer a person has served and the more risks they have taken, the longer the deferment they will receive after completing their contract.
A basic guaranteed deferment of six months has been established for all types of contracts. In addition, an individual term may be added, calculated taking into account the specifics of the contract, the number of months on the front line, and total military tenure.
Examples of deferment calculation
For example, if a serviceman signs an infantry-storming contract for 14 months and spends four of them on combat positions, he receives an additional deferment of 12 months. In total with the basic six months, the total duration of the deferment will be one and a half years.
Increased payments and new service conditions
As part of a major update of approaches to organizing the army, Ukraine plans to introduce one of the highest levels of financial support in the world for infantrymen. Three types of contracts are also provided, each of which provides for the granting of a deferment after completing service.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously confirmed that the country has the resources to increase payments to military personnel: up to 30,000 hryvnias in rear units and up to 300,000 hryvnias on the front line.
These measures are aimed at creating a fairer and more motivating military service system that takes into account the real contribution of each soldier to the defense of the state.