Ukrainian military offers special benefits in hopes of recruiting more younger men

Russian soldiers ride atop Akatsiya self-propelled gun at an undisclosed location in eastern Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s Defense Ministry is offering new financial and other benefits that it hopes will attract men between ages 18 and 24 to military service, as its short-handed armed forces toil on the front line against Russia’s bigger army in the almost three-year war.

Men in that age group are currently exempt from the country’s draft, which covers men between 25 and 60 years old. Last spring, Ukraine lowered the conscription age from 27 to 25, but that has failed to replenish ranks or replace battlefield losses.

Also, some draft-age men have moved abroad, while desertions have undermined the army.

Ukrainian forces are slowly being pushed backward in some eastern areas, as uncertainty has taken root over whether the Trump administration will keep sending vital military aid. The Biden administration had urged Ukraine to lower the draft age to 18.

Volunteers joining the new program are eligible for a one-time signing fee of 1 million hryvnias (around US$24,000) in addition to a monthly salary of 120,000 hryvnias (around $2,900), Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on the ministry’s website late Tuesday.

Other benefits include being eligible for a zero per cent mortgage rate, a government scholarship for higher education, additional health care benefits such as dental care, permission to leave the country after one year of service, and a draft waiver for 12 months after the end of their contract.

The offer risks vexing people already in uniform.

For example, military personnel engaged in rear guard activities such as command, planning, air defense, supply and logistics start at approximately 30,000 hryvnias ($720) a month, according to public information on the Defense Ministry website.

Only soldiers engaging in “direct participation in hostilities” and deployed to the front line are currently eligible for monthly pay of at least 120,000 hryvnias ($2,900). It wasn’t clear whether the Defense Ministry proposes paying that amount to younger recruits if they serve in rear guard areas.

The Defense Ministry’s proposal also comes as the government faces continuing criticism for its refusal to establish a legal framework and time frame for demobilizing soldiers.

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Illia Novikov, The Associated Press