Zelenskyy on army reform: we will finalise everything in May so tangible changes are in place by June

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the team working on a military reform has been tasked with finalising all proposals in May so that tangible changes can be seen as early as June.

Source: Zelenskyy's evening address on 1 May

Quote: "It is important that steps have already been taken to support brigades. And the programme on direct funding for brigades is working very well. It has been in place since last year.

Measures to ensure combat brigades receive guaranteed monthly personnel replenishment are also working. This was another important change. And all of this will continue to develop.

Transfers between units will also be further simplified – relevant decisions on this have already been made. And, of course, alongside this, a new significant stage of the army reform. The goal is to finalise everything in May so that changes can be implemented from June of this year and felt in practice."

Details: Zelenskyy said he had instructed the defence minister, military command and the Presidential Office team to discuss the details of the reform with combat commanders in order to take into account all strong proposals.

He also outlined details of a meeting on army reform, including plans to increase servicemembers' pay.

Quote: "For rear positions, it will be no less than 30,000 hryvnias [about US$683 – ed.] per month. Combat positions will receive significantly more. The financial support for our combat commanders – sergeants and officers, battalion, brigade, and corps commanders – will also be raised substantially."

More details: Zelenskyy also spoke about a new approach involving clearly defined duration of service.

Quote: "This is the most fundamental moral issue, so that it becomes possible, in particular, to begin releasing those who were mobilised earlier from military service. Now, in May, all aspects of the army reform must be finally approved: documents, regulations, and financial arrangements."

Background:

• As part of the upcoming military reform, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed the military leadership of Ukraine that the financial support for servicemembers be significantly increased, taking into account the principle of fairness. In particular, this includes the introduction of special contracts for infantry soldiers, with payments ranging from UAH 250,000 to 400,000 (about US$5,650 to US$9,000) depending on the fulfilment of combat tasks.
• Within the framework of the reform, Zelenskyy also announced changes to the approach to staffing defence forces units and personnel management.
• Earlier, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, signed an order introducing mandatory rotation for soldiers carrying out tasks on the front line.
• At the end of March, Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that the Defence Ministry team is preparing changes to the mobilisation process, decisions regarding unauthorised absence from units, as well as specific approaches for assault troops and infantry – including terms of service and financial support.

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