The announced large-scale reform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, providing for changes in the system of financial payments and the introduction of new types of contracts, caused a wave of indignation, skepticism and heated discussions among active military personnel. Defenders on the front line and in the rear units openly point out systemic injustice, hidden populism and the threat of destruction of army institutions, as became known from detailed monitoring and analysis of publications of military personnel on social networks.

Changing the rhetoric of public figures.

Serviceman Andrei Andreychuk drew attention to the trend when well-known public figures sooner or later get closer to the authorities and begin to play by its corporate rules, even if this was not expected of them before. As an example, he cited Sergei Sternenko, who now actively praises the army reform and calls it a “historic day”.

Andreychuk drew a parallel with Sergei Leshchenko, who was once a journalist, and later “UZaliznichnil” (joined the supervisory board of the state enterprise “Ukrzaliznytsia” - ed.. The fighter also remembered Bohdan Krotevich, who previously harshly criticized the high military command, in particular Syrsky and Sodol, and now holds the position of adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs Klimenko.

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A soldier with the nickname @isky. creator, who, according to her, has been in the ranks of the army since 2022, emotionally stated that due to all the chaos that the soldiers have to “shove out” every day, there is a strong impression that the defenders are being tested not only by combat operations, but also by logistical processes. She emphasized that people who stood up to defend the country during the most difficult period feel as if they signed up for themselves the status of “fools”, obliged to endure bullying, humiliation and outright disrespect. Those who cannot withstand this pressure are perceived by the system as “waste biomaterial”, and not as people who have won the right to be the driving force of society.

This pessimism is shared by a serviceman with the nickname @bgggdn, for whom the analysis of the new reform caused only a feeling of disgust due to the fact that absolutely nothing has changed in the system. The fighter noted that although he does not serve directly in the infantry, artillery is also extremely hard work, where enemy Lancets, KABs, FPV drones and Lightnings are constantly flying into positions.. At the same time, as a result, the military man receives 60 thousand hryvnia bonus and 20 thousand basic salary. Of these funds, a significant part has to be regularly donated to the needs of the unit in order to “cramp” (unit cars - ed.. ) could move, buy equipment with their own money and somehow feed their family, which makes it simply impossible to dream of some kind of stable future.

Injustice and the threat of SZCh.

Serviceman Andrei Moklyak raised the issue of deep inequality between veterans of the first years of a full-scale war and recruits. He said that he was voluntarily mobilized at the age of 19, went through heavy combat and was wounded while defending his homeland. Now he is forced to serve for the fifth year without any end date, while people aged 18-24 who sign a contract now will go through the same thing and in a year or two will be able to calmly leave for demobilization. Moklyak called this mega-injustice and warned: if this factor is not taken into account in the new bills, he is ready to resort to SZCh, since his conscience before the country over all these years is absolutely clear.

At the same time, a serviceman with the nickname @artem_wur noted that after completing his current army contract he plans to go to work in the patrol police. According to him, there he will receive more than 80% of the officers in the army, and at the same time will have guaranteed protection from mobilization.

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Payment and contract pitfalls.

Marine Corps officer Dmitry Ivanov tried to dissect without emotion the changes announced by the Ministry of Defense, dividing them into two key categories: financial support and new contracts:.

Cash support:.

The military salaries themselves are not increased by a penny - all announced funding is implemented exclusively in the form of allowances. This is done so that the state avoids paying high military pensions in the future, since bonuses are not taken into account when calculating them.

Mostly non-combat units complained about low incomes, while combat units demanded solutions to issues of leaves, rotations and terms of service. However, the reformers allocated additional funds specifically to combat units, and rear units were given an allowance of only 250 US dollars (about 10 thousand hryvnia), which does not solve the problem of poverty of their families.

If a fighter is wounded and transferred to the rear, he will instantly lose his combat allowance and become “a little richer than a pauper,” which completely destroys the incentive for people to go to recruiting centers. According to Ivanov, in the current Armed Forces of Ukraine the most unprotected person is the officer of a non-combat unit, since for sergeants the procedure for moving has been at least minimally simplified within the corps.

Contract terms:.

All past military merits (participation in the ATO, Joint Forces Operation and full-scale war since 2022) are actually ignored. During the six years of war in Donbass from 2014 to 2022, the state offers the veteran only six months of deferment.

For a new contract for 24 months, ATO/JFO veterans are promised one year of deferment, and everyone else - only six months. No serious civilian employer will hire a person knowing that his deferment lasts only six months.

A paradoxical situation is emerging: a veteran who has been fighting continuously since 2022, after signing a new two-year contract, will leave only in 2028 - exactly on the same day as a recruit who joined the army only yesterday and signed the same two-year contract.

Ivanov summarized that the reform is aimed at attracting new people, but does not care at all about retaining and motivating those who are already serving. His personal conclusion is categorical: “Enough with gambling with the state, it always deceives anyway,” adding that after dismissal he will under no circumstances return to the army.

Financial skepticism.

Serviceman Sergei Marchenko expressed serious concerns about the destruction of the basic principles of the army. He noted that the announced salaries for infantrymen in the amount of $7 thousand per month (about 300 thousand hryvnia) cause justified skepticism. Based on his own experience, when he has to go on business trips at his own expense due to the state’s inability to properly compensate even basic housing costs, Marchenko doubts that the state will actually pay such amounts.

He called the norm according to which an infantry soldier would receive more than a corps commander particularly dangerous.. Marchenko emphasized that such social populism is very sweet for the unpretentious public on social networks and civilian voters, but the world army model is strictly based on hierarchy. It has a deep ethical meaning for a community that goes to death for a higher purpose. Violation of this vertical undermines the controllability of the army and the ability of personnel to carry out orders. At the same time, he added that the very fact of the top leadership’s attention to providing the army is positive, since a prolonged lack of resources depletes the troops and leads to despondency.

Uncontested Bankovaya trap.

The ex-commander of the attack UAV company 421 OBPS DShV Alexei Petrov called the proposed beautiful slides and large numbers the usual political PR of Bankova, which does not answer the main question - what the real service life will be. As an experienced ex-brigadier, he explained: in order to release one combat unit tomorrow, it was necessary to mobilize and train a new person “the day before yesterday,” however, the authorities are afraid to escalate the issue of mobilization because of the risk for political ratings.

Instead of transparent demobilization, veterans who have been fighting for more than four years and are exhausted to the limit are forced to sign new contracts: either “infantry” for 6–10 months, or “just combat” for 24 months. Without this, it is impossible to get the desired demobilization, which they have been “promising to promise” for many years now.. The former commander was indignant that they still had not learned to speak to the military in an adult language, trying to pass off coercion as “delicious candy”.

Serviceman Alexander Poddubny fully confirmed that the so-called reform consists of imposing uncontested contracts. If a fighter refuses to sign, he will be left on minimum basic support and will serve indefinitely until a presidential decree on demobilization is issued, which may not be issued even after martial law ends.. He stated that trust in the army was destroyed at the cost of the lives and health of the best people, and it is futile to count on restoring it with the help of such “sweet” methods..

Please note: this collection contains reactions and opinions of social network users. The editors do not have the technical ability to verify the personal data, combat experience or status of all content authors. We are publishing these comments to show the general direction of the discussion that is currently going on online..

Let us recall that Golos deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak warned that the budget lacks 270 billion hryvnia to finance military salaries and their increase.. Of these, 120 billion are needed directly for the reform itself..