Ukraine's military reform sparks backlash, soldiers still don't know when they can go home

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence unveiled a sweeping military reform in mid-June 2026, introducing new contract types and selective pay raises. However, most serving soldiers have criticised the plan, saying it fails to answer the most pressing question: when will those who have already served for years, some since 2014, finally be allowed to return home. The reform is seen by many troops as designed primarily to attract new civilian recruits rather than reward those already fighting.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence revealed the details of a major military reform in mid-June 2026, introducing new contract structures, partial pay increases, and a cumulative deferment system for soldiers. While some servicemembers welcomed the fact that reform had finally arrived, the majority have responded with frustration and sharp criticism, according to reporting by Ukrainska Pravda, which interviewed soldiers across various ranks and roles within the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF).

New Contracts, New Pay, But Not for Everyone

Under the reform, the UAF will introduce new contract types: 6-14 months for infantry and assault troops, and 24 months for all other military specialties. Upon completing a contract, soldiers will receive a deferment from re-mobilisation of at least six months. A cumulative deferment system is also being introduced, the longer a soldier has served and the more time spent on the front line, the longer the deferment they can earn, potentially stretching to several years.

Pay increases are tiered and uneven. Rear-service logistics and support personnel will see their salaries rise from 20,000 to 30,000 hryvnias per month, a 50% increase that many describe as negligible given living costs in cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Pavlohrad, where most rear headquarters are located. Command post soldiers will receive 70,000 hryvnias; brigade commanders 150,000; corps commanders 230,000; and infantry and assault troops between 300,000 and 460,000 hryvnias per month. The ministry acknowledged that higher pay for support staff is simply not funded.

Notably absent from the pay raises are drone operators, the personnel responsible for the majority of strikes both on the battlefield and deep into Russian-held territory, a gap that has drawn particular criticism from serving soldiers.

"They Tricked Us Like Fools"

The most acute grievance concerns soldiers who have been serving continuously since 2014, now into their twelfth year of war, as well as those who joined after Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022, now in their fifth year of service. All contracts signed before 2022 were rendered indefinite following February 24 of that year, leaving soldiers with no legal end date to their service.

Instead of a clear discharge date, the ministry is proposing that all currently serving soldiers complete an additional 6-14 months in infantry roles or two years in other positions before becoming eligible for deferment. Those who choose not to sign new contracts will remain in service until demobilisation, effectively until the war ends.

Soldiers interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda did not hold back. «I don't understand at all why those who've been serving since the ATO-JFO days and had their service automatically extended on February 24, 2022 should have to sign any contract. If anyone deserves priority discharge, it's them,» said one servicemember. Another asked bluntly: «Why do I need to serve another two years after four and a half?» A third was more direct: «Mate, I think we've been had. Strung along like idiots behind our backs.»

One soldier posed a question that resonated widely: «What if the war ends in six months and I've still got 18 months left on my contract? Am I an idiot or what? I think about this every six months.»

Demobilisation, A Word the Ministry Won't Use

In a striking detail reported by Ukrainska Pravda, the Ministry of Defence asked journalists at a reform briefing not to use the word "demobilisation" at all, requesting the term "discharge" be used instead. Ministry officials acknowledged they are not yet ready to discuss demobilisation as a concept.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky first floated the possibility of phased discharge for "those mobilised earlier" back in May. However, the procedure is still being developed, and any discharges would require a separate presidential decree. Journalists estimate that given the size of Ukraine's million-strong military, only roughly a couple of thousand soldiers per month could be discharged simultaneously, meaning some servicemembers could wait years for their turn.

Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated in an interview with Ukrainian broadcaster 1+1 that the monthly number of discharges would «depend on the situation on the battlefield.»

Reform Aimed at Civilians, Not Veterans

A widely shared perception among serving soldiers is that the reform was not designed for them at all, but rather to entice civilians who have not yet joined the military. Many veterans consider it deeply unfair that new civilian recruits would enter under better-defined terms than those who have already been fighting for years.

Deputy Defence Minister Mstislav Banyk clarified that soldiers already under contract may either re-sign under the new terms or complete their existing contracts, but what happens to their deferment entitlement in either case remains unclear.

Ukrainska Pravda estimates that at least 25-30% of Ukrainian military personnel are already serving under various existing contracts, none of whom currently understand how the new rules apply to them.

The outlet also raised a fundamental unanswered question: if the reform fails to attract sufficient new civilian recruits, who will replace those leaving the military, and will those soldiers actually be allowed to leave at all?