Base pay for military personnel will not increase: Risks are being discussed in Parliament
18 June 00:47
The base pay for Ukrainian military personnel may remain unchanged in the medium term. This was reported by People’s Deputy Nina Yuzhanina, according to "Komersant Ukrainian"
Yuzhanina drew attention to figures from the Budget Declaration for 2027–2029, according to which the minimum monthly basic pay for military personnel, excluding additional compensation, remains at 20,130 UAH.
In her view, these figures raise questions, given that the documents also call for a gradual reduction in spending on the Ministry of Defense in the coming years.
Yuzhanina Criticized the Figures in the Budget Declaration
Nina Yuzhanina stated that the current government likely does not plan to increase the minimum basic pay for military personnel.
“It appears that the current government does not plan to increase the minimum basic pay for military personnel,” Yuzhanina noted.
According to her, in Appendix No. 1 to the Budget Declaration for 2027–2029, the minimum monthly base pay for military personnel, excluding additional compensation, remains at 20,130 UAH.
“According to Appendix No. 1 to the Budget Declaration for 2027–2029, the minimum monthly basic pay, excluding additional compensation, will remain at 20,130 UAH for the next four years,” the lawmaker emphasized.
What Does Basic Pay Mean?
Basic pay is the main component of a service member’s compensation. It does not include additional compensation, such as combat pay, bonuses, or other allowances that may depend on conditions of service, participation in combat operations, or a specific unit.
That is why, according to Yuzhanina, maintaining the base allowance at a constant level is important: it affects the overall level of social guarantees for military personnel, especially for those who do not always receive additional combat pay.
Defense Ministry spending may be cut
Separately, Nina Yuzhanina drew attention to the planned expenditure targets for the Ministry of Defense in the medium term.
According to her, the documents project the following trends:
- 2026 — 1,924 billion UAH;
- 2027 — 1,589 billion UAH;
- 2028 — 1,227 billion UAH;
- 2029 — 1,045 billion UAH.
Yuzhanina believes that these figures seem contradictory given the statements about the need to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities.
“Total spending on the Ministry of Defense is planned to be cut nearly in half in the medium term. And this comes after numerous statements about the need to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities and maintain a strong army,” she said.
“Defense spending is viewed as wartime expenditure”
The lawmaker suggests that the government’s approach to planning defense spending may indicate an intention to cut it once the most acute phase of the war is over.
“It seems that the authorities view defense spending exclusively as wartime expenditures,” Yuzhanina noted.
In her view, this raises additional questions, since even after the war, Ukraine will need a strong army, a modern defense system, and adequate funding for the military.
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Will there be an indexation of military pay?
Separately, Nina Yuzhanina pointed out that, based on these figures, the government is effectively not planning to index the base pay of military personnel for 2027–2029.
“Incidentally, it appears that the government is planning for no indexation of the basic pay for military personnel for 2027–2029,” she stated.
According to her, keeping the base pay unchanged for several years could lead to a gradual erosion of military personnel’s income due to inflation and rising prices.
Yuzhanina raised the issue with the Coalition Council
Nina Yuzhanina also asked whether members of the Coalition Council had taken note of these figures during the discussion of the Budget Declaration.
“These figures in the Budget Declaration raise more questions than they answer. And, by the way, I’m curious: what was the reaction of the Coalition Council members to these figures? Did these issues not interest anyone?” she wrote.
What Is the Budget Declaration?
The Budget Declaration is a medium-term document that sets out the state’s main budgetary guidelines for several years. It is not a law on the state budget, but it is used as a basis for planning future budgets.
That is why the figures set out in the declaration may change during the preparation of the specific state budget for the relevant year. At the same time, they demonstrate the government’s approach to public policy priorities.
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