Ukraine will increase military wages and expand recruitment of foreign volunteers, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday, as the armed forces face a critical personnel shortage after more than four years of war with Russia.
Speaking in his daily address following a meeting with senior cabinet ministers, Zelenskyy said the government had agreed on measures to strengthen the military's financial resilience and accelerate its transformation.
“The cabinet of ministers will approve a specific mechanism, and the government should start the first new payments as early as June,” Zelenskyy said.
Basic military salaries will rise by one-third to 30,000 hryvnias ($700), bringing them into line with the country's average monthly wage, which has increased because of labour shortages and strong demand during the war.
Front-line infantry soldiers will see average monthly pay rise to 300,000 hryvnias (around $7,000), up from the previous range of 100,000 to 150,000 hryvnias. The government will also introduce fixed-term combat contracts of 10, 14 or 24 months.
Ukraine has secured a €90 billion loan from the European Union, allowing defence spending to reach a record 4.4 trillion hryvnias ($97 billion) in 2026.
The funds are expected to begin flowing this month, giving Kyiv the resources needed to implement the planned pay rises and military reforms.
In addition to raising salaries, Zelenskyy said Ukraine plans to expand the recruitment of foreign fighters.
“I have instructed to create significantly more opportunities to recruit foreign volunteers into the Ukrainian army, and there will be more recruitment channels in this regard,” he said.
Since the start of the war, an estimated 10,000 foreign volunteers from more than 70 countries have joined Ukraine's armed forces, according to Ukrainian military publications.
A woman has died and five people are missing after a residential building collapsed following an explosion in a to...
President Ilham Aliyev has highlighted Azerbaijan’s security, transport connectivity, economic diversification and renewable energy potential...
Yemen's Saudi-led coalition said early on Saturday it had intercepted two ballistic missiles and two drones la...
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained low on Thursday, as Iran reiterated that it will neither enter into new negotiations with the United States nor re-open the Strait as long as its conditions are not met, despite recent indirect talks in New York mediated by Qatar.
As the Ukraine war is highlighted by some leaders during the United Nations' 81st General Assembly meeting in New York, Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Thursday with ballistic missiles, killing two people and injuring six, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan will hold an urgent high-level meeting under a joint defence pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis. The meeting comes as Tehran seeks to distance itself from the rapid advance of its Houthi allies.
The 81st UN General Assembly has wrapped up its third day in New York on Thursday, with world leaders delivering high-level speeches and holding diplomatic meetings.
World leaders return to the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday for the fourth day of the high-level General Debate, with speeches and diplomatic meetings continuing throughout the day.
A woman has died and five people are missing after a residential building collapsed following an explosion in a tourist area of central Athens, a Greek fire brigade official said on Saturday.
U.S. television networks resumed coverage of President Donald Trump’s White House events on Friday, providing the first live pool footage of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit as a legal battle continues over restrictions on CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is comfortable maintaining its trade standoff with Canada despite new import bans taking effect next week U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Friday.
The military chiefs of Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan met in Riyadh to discuss closer defence cooperation under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.
French President Emmanuel Macron has left open the possibility of seeking the presidency again after he leaves office next year, saying he “doesn’t exclude anything” when asked about a possible third mandate.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment