A new model of military service has been approved in Ukraine, introducing a fundamentally different approach to contract conditions. Now, every serviceman receives a guaranteed right to deferment immediately after completing their term of service. This was announced by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, in his Telegram channel, while details of the reform were revealed by the publication RBC-Ukraine.
Deferment as a mandatory contract condition
The key change is that providing deferment is no longer a one-time privilege or a subject of negotiation. It now becomes an integral part of the service conditions and is fixed in the agreement at the signing stage. This allows the soldier to know their rights in advance and plan their future.
The basic deferment period is set at a minimum of six months. However, the actual recovery period may be significantly longer. The calculation system is individual and takes into account a combination of factors:
- Total years of service;
- Participation in combat operations;
- Duration of service at the front.
The logic of the reform is simple: the more time a serviceman has spent in the combat zone, the longer the period allocated for recovery after demobilization. The calculation also takes into account service experience prior to signing new contracts and the period preceding the start of the full-scale invasion.
Transparency and predictability
The main goal of the changes is to make military service more transparent and predictable. According to the new system, a serviceman clearly understands three aspects: the term of the contract they are signing, the payments they are entitled to, and the period of rest guaranteed by the state after completing their service. This is part of a large-scale transformation aimed at increasing the resilience of the armed forces.
It is also worth noting that the mechanism for those who previously deserted (AWOL) remains in place in Ukraine. Servicemen have the opportunity to voluntarily return to service. In this case, they are given the right to choose their unit, and after formalizing their return, their financial and other types of support are restored.