Ukraine lures new young soldiers with big money sparking anger from old guard – POLITICO

“The state devalues ​​all those who voluntarily joined the army at the beginning of a full-scale war,” Masi Nayyem, a Ukrainian serviceman and prominent lawyer, said in a Facebook post. 

“It seems that when choosing between unpopular decisions, they decided to neglect the motivation of those already in service,” added Nayyem, who has served in the armed forces for years and lost an eye in combat with the Russian military.

Ukraine’s defense ministry launched the “Contract 18-24” project this week. The initiative promises new joiners about €23,000, of which around €4,600 is paid immediately and the rest across a period of one year, in addition to a monthly salary.

The contract also offers zero-interest mortgages, state-funded training, access to free medical care, including dental prosthetics, and the right to travel abroad. The ministry claims that the new initiative is aimed at showing the army values its people in Ukraine and rewards them.

But existing servicemen get just €460 as a monthly salary on average (depending on rank), plus an increase of up to €2,300 a month if they go on combat missions.

Ukraine has to pay salaries for its 88,000 army soldiers from the state budget, as Western partners won’t finance the armed forces directly.