Ukraine plans army pay hikes, phased discharge — Zelenskyy

Ukraine plans to raise military wages, improve contracts and implement a phased discharge system for long-serving personnel, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday.

The reforms, set to begin in June, aim to address acute manpower shortages after more than four years of full-scale war with Russia.

What reforms did Zelenskyy announce?

In a Telegram message, Zelenskyy said the first reforms must be delivered in June, starting with enhanced financial support for soldiers, sergeants and commanders.

Infantry troops will see their monthly salaries increased to 250,000 to 400,000 hryvnias ($5,700 to $9,000, €4,850 to €7,670), up from a current maximum of around 170,000 hryvnias for those deployed at the front or behind enemy lines for 30 days.

Non-combat personnel will receive a rise from 20,000 to 30,000 hryvnias per month.

Zelenskyy also announced a “phased discharge” for troops mobilized early in the war, based on clear, time-based criteria.

The change would effectively end the current system of open-ended contracts. He provided no specific timelines for demobilization, saying details are still being finalized.

Learning from Ukrainian soldiers

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

While hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men volunteered in the opening months of Russia’s 2022 invasion, nearly all new recruits are now conscripts.

The military has faced repeated criticism for heavy-handed conscription practices, including reports of forced detentions, street abductions and so-called “busification,” where military-age men are rounded up in public spaces and taken directly to enlistment centers.

Cases of soldiers going absent without leave (AWOL) are also widespread, and corruption allows some wealthy or well-connected individuals to evade service through bribes.

Ukraine targets Russian Black Sea oil terminal

In other developments, Ukrainian forces struck an oil terminal in Russia's Black Sea port of Tuapse on Friday, Ukraine’s General Staff reported.

Local Russian officials confirmed the attack, saying it sparked a fire but caused no casualties. The facility was also targeted three times last month.

Regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said a fire at the city’s oil refinery had been extinguished on Thursday, just hours before the latest strike.

How AI Is Reshaping Warfare in Ukraine

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Moscow's forces step up strikes

Meanwhile, Russia intensified its aerial campaign against Ukrainian territory, launching more than 50 drones at the western city of Ternopil on Friday, wounding at least 10 people, according to Mayor Serhii Nadal.

In the southern Odesa region, overnight drone strikes damaged two multi-story residential buildings and port infrastructure.

Ukraine’s Emergency Service reported an apartment destroyed in a 16-story building, with fires breaking out on the upper floors of another high-rise.

Zelenskyy said additional overnight attacks on the central city of Kryvyi Rih and the northeastern Kharkiv region damaged railway infrastructure.

He also noted that Ukrainian drone attacks have caused at least $7 billion (€6 billion) in damages to Russia's oil industry so far this year.

This has helped to significantly curtail Russia's oil revenues, a major driver for the war in Ukraine, according to Zelenskyy.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko