In Ukraine, over more than four months of the new system of motivational contracts with defined terms of service, about 8,600 people have signed the relevant agreements. This number includes both current military personnel and civilians who decided to join the army.
This was reported by Roman Kostenko, secretary of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, in a comment to "Ukrainska Pravda", which published an article on the first results of the army reform on October 28.
The new contract system was introduced on June 15, 2026 as part of an experimental government project. It provides for three types of agreements: infantry-assault contracts lasting from 6 to 14 months, as well as combat and basic contracts for a period of two years.
The duration of an infantry-assault contract depends on the status of the serviceman. For those who have previously left the service, a contract of six months is provided, for current military personnel - ten months, and for recruits - 14 months.
After completing the contract, military personnel have the right to discharge from service and a deferment from repeat mobilization. The basic term of this deferment is six months, but can be increased depending on the previous length of service and participation in combat operations.
However, as "Ukrainska Pravda" found out, a significant portion of the surveyed military personnel are in no hurry to sign new agreements. The main reason is distrust of the guarantees of discharge after the contract ends. Soldiers fear that due to martial law, actual discharge from service may be more difficult than provided by the documents.
Additional discontent is caused by the fact that servicemen who have been in the army since 2022 or earlier have actually received the opportunity to sign contracts for the same terms as recruits. At the same time, not everyone considers the duration of the guaranteed break after service sufficient to return to civilian life.
Another problem cited by military personnel is the uneven increase in pay. In particular, payments to infantrymen and assault troops increased the most, while drone operators and representatives of other combat specialties did not receive a similar increase.
At the same time, the new payment system is already operational. The publication's sources in the military and government bodies confirmed that the increased payments are being made. In particular, the commander of one of the assault units reported no delays after initial difficulties with paperwork.
Roman Kostenko believes that the pay system needs to be revised, paying more attention to military personnel with extensive combat experience. He proposes to link the amount of payments to years of service and actual time at the front. Currently, this is a parliamentary proposal, not an adopted norm.
According to "Ukrainska Pravda", the Ministry of Defense is already analyzing the results of the experiment and feedback from servicemen. The team of Minister Yevhenii Khmara will determine which provisions of the reform should be enshrined in a future bill.
In addition, the agency is developing a new system of long-term contracts for those planning to continue a military career. Such agreements may include an additional package of benefits, but their content and implementation timeline are not yet disclosed.
The issue of phased discharge of military personnel mobilized at the beginning of the full-scale invasion remains unresolved. President Volodymyr Zelensky previously announced a corresponding mechanism, but as of October 28, no decision on its launch has been made.
