460 thousand hryvnias per month — how the new combat pay system for military personnel will work

The additional monetary support system for servicemen has undergone one of the most extensive updates since the full-scale war began. From now on, the amount of reward will depend not only on the fact of participation in combat operations but also on the specific conditions of task execution, the location of their conduct, the level of risk, and the achieved result.

For certain categories of servicemen, new monthly payments, daily rewards for assault actions, bonuses for capturing prisoners and confirmed enemy destruction, as well as a clear procedure for documentary confirmation of the right to each of them, are provided.

At the same time, the basic monetary allowance for the military remains unchanged, and the maximum amount of combat payments is now limited by separate rules.

The size of the new combat payments is defined by Cabinet Resolution No. 768. The mechanism for their accrual is established by the Ministry of Defense Order No. 232 dated June 29, which amended the Procedure for Payment of Monetary Allowances (Ministry of Defense Order No. 260 dated 07.06.2018).

The basic monetary allowance remains unchanged

The official salary, rank salary, length of service allowance, and other permanent components of the monetary allowance remain unchanged.

New payments are added to the existing system.

Additional combat rewards and task execution conditions

The new system provides several types of monthly additional rewards—from 10,000 to 170,000 UAH—whose amount is determined by the nature and location of combat tasks.

Additional reward for participation in combat operations 100,000 UAH/month

Paid proportionally to the time of participation to those who directly participate in combat operations, being in the areas of their conduct, and perform combat (special) tasks on the following grounds:

• conducting combat operations on the contact line up to and including battalion depth;
• detecting enemy air targets in combat zones;
• flights in the airspace of regions where combat operations are conducted;
• fire damage to the enemy as part of missile troops, artillery, or air defense units;
• actions on enemy territory;
• fire damage to enemy air and naval targets;
• evacuation of aircraft from under attack with takeoff execution;
• actions of ships, boats, vessels in sea and river waters outside internal port waters and base points;
• medical personnel of medical units and subdivisions in combat zones;
• repelling armed attacks on guarded objects and liberating such objects;
• demining in task execution areas according to combat orders.

The payment applies to a wide range of specialties—from infantry and reconnaissance to ship crews, medics, and sappers—based on a single criterion: direct presence in the combat zone and task execution under combat orders.

Payment of 50,000 UAH – command posts

According to the new Procedure, a payment of 50,000 UAH/month (proportionally to time) is granted to servicemen performing tasks at brigade, center, regiment, combined unit, battalion, and detachment command posts from which operational (combat) control of units conducting combat operations in their area is directly exercised.

New provisions:

1. Linkage to the combat zone of subordinate units. The new criterion is not the location of the headquarters itself but where the units under its control conduct combat operations. A brigade headquarters deployed outside the direct combat zone but exercising combat control over units fighting in that zone qualifies for the 50,000 UAH payment.
2. Exclusion of security and support personnel. Security, support, and service units within these command posts do not receive the payment.

For headquarters above the brigade level (headquarters of groupings), the right to payment depends on inclusion in a separate list approved by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in agreement with the Ministry of Defense. Inclusion in the list is not automatic.

Payment for performing combat (special) tasks 30,000 UAH/month

For performing combat (special) tasks under combat orders (directives), including:

• collective training during combat readiness restoration as part of the Commander-in-Chief's reserve;
• command of troop groupings within deployed General Staff command posts;
• working groups within regions where combat operations are conducted, as determined by the Commander-in-Chief or Chief of the General Staff;
• demining outside combat zones;
• comprehensive support of active groupings directly in combat zones;
• air defense and ground defense of critical infrastructure objects outside military towns.

The payment covers a wide range of tasks—from restoring reserve combat readiness to air defense in the rear—and is a basic combat allowance for those operating outside the direct enemy contact zone but performing tasks that directly support combat operations.

Rear allowance 10,000 UAH/month

A new rear allowance (additional reward) introduced by Resolution No. 768. Paid proportionally to the time of duty performance to all who do not receive any of the above-mentioned allowances, with the following exceptions where it is not paid:

• those on leave with pay—during the leave period;
• those assigned to commanders' disposal or relieved from positions (except temporary duty performance);
• cadets of military training units and military educational institutions;
• those sent for training to military training units;
• those included in the shift personnel of reserve units and reserve companies.

The rear allowance is the minimum guaranteed level of additional reward for all personnel actually serving, regardless of contract status—except for categories whose presence in the unit is temporary or educational.

Principle of payment competition

If a serviceman is entitled to several payments from the 100K/50K/30K/10K scale simultaneously, only the highest daily payment is granted. The 10,000 UAH payment is intended exclusively for those who have no grounds for any higher amounts.

Payments to instructor staff directly in military units

Separate from payments to instructors of training units and military universities (Resolution No. 168), a scale is introduced for instructors working directly in combat military units:

• 25,000 UAH/month – commanders (heads) of instructor units;
• 15,000 UAH/month – instructor staff with basic training level of sergeant personnel and basic instructor training level;
• 25,000 UAH/month – instructor staff with intermediate sergeant training level and advanced instructor training level;
• 30,000 UAH/month – instructor staff with advanced sergeant training level and academic instructor training level;
• 30,000 UAH/month – instructor staff of instructor units (not below basic training level) granted combatant status.

The payment is accrued from the day of assuming duties based on the unit commander's order and confirmation of training conducted by relevant documents (directive, order, class schedule, combat training log).

Zone rewards – 170,000 and 70,000 UAH

These additional payments are exclusively linked to the distance from the combat contact line where tasks are performed and are paid proportionally to the actual days spent in the respective zone.

170,000 UAH/month proportionally – for tasks performed:

• at a distance up to and including a platoon strongpoint (on the line or in offensive/counteroffensive/counterattack);
• in temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine;
• in territory between Defense Forces positions and enemy positions;
• in enemy territory.

70,000 UAH/month proportionally – for tasks performed at a distance up to and including a company strongpoint.

If during the month a serviceman was in different areas, payments are calculated for each area proportionally to the days and summed.

Confirmation: combat order (directive), combat log or combat report, unit commander’s report on task execution by each serviceman. One day is a full calendar day (00:00–24:00), regardless of the number of engagements per day. If a task was performed spanning two days, it counts as two days. Payment orders are issued by the 5th of the current month based on records from the previous month.

Rewards for assault actions – 40,000 and 20,000 UAH per day

These rewards are paid depending on the nature of assault actions:

• 40,000 UAH/day – for assault with capture of positions directly on the contact line or deep in enemy defense;
• 20,000 UAH/day – for restoring (retaking) positions captured by enemy infiltrated groups deep in own defense.

If both rates apply on the same day, the higher (40,000 UAH) is paid.

These payments have a more complex confirmation procedure. The military unit commander submits a request to the military command authority to confirm the execution of relevant combat (special) tasks. Documents confirming execution (combat order, combat log, combat report, unit commander’s report with operation indicators, nominal list of participants) are kept in the military unit and form the basis for the request. The military command authority reviews the request within three days and issues a directive confirming it. Only after this does the military unit issue a payment order.

Additional reward for capturing prisoners – 100,000 UAH

For each captured prisoner of war – 100,000 UAH to the unit (group) that directly made the capture. Distributed among participants considering each person’s contribution.

Confirmation: combat log, combat report with number of captures, copy of the list and acceptance-transfer act of prisoners, unit commander’s report, nominal list of participants. The unit commander issues a payment order within three days of receiving the documents.

Additional reward for confirmed close combat result

15,000 UAH – additional reward to the unit (group) based on verification of combat task execution results in rifle or hand-to-hand combat. Payment is made only after confirmation of grounds defined by the Procedure, including mandatory video recording.

Payment has a separate confirmation channel via the ICS “Delta”: an authorized unit person enters data (unit, full names and positions of participants, number of enemies destroyed, coordinates, date and time, video materials, weapon data). Responsible persons of the Innovation Development Fund verify information within 72 hours. Based on verification results, the Ministry of Defense generates an automatic report, on which the unit commander issues an order within three days.

Total combat payment limit – 460,000 UAH per month

The 460,000 UAH limit applies exclusively to combat payments and is calculated as the sum of three categories:

• 100,000 UAH – for direct participation in combat operations (Resolution No. 168);
• 170,000 or 70,000 UAH – zone payment (Resolution No. 768);
• 40,000 or 20,000 UAH × number of assault days (Resolution No. 768).

If the sum of these three categories exceeds 460,000 UAH per month, exactly 460,000 UAH is paid.

Outside the limit are paid separately:

• basic monetary allowance (official salary, rank salary, allowances);
• one-time financial assistance for signing the first contract;
• bonus for capturing prisoners (100,000 UAH per prisoner);
• bonus for destroying enemy personnel (15,000 UAH per enemy destroyed).

Thus, the actual monthly payment of a frontline serviceman consists of the basic allowance, combat payments within the 460,000 UAH limit, and result bonuses paid outside the limit—and has no fixed ceiling.

Who and when confirms the right to payments

The general principle: confirmation is based on primary combat documents—orders, combat logs, combat reports, unit commanders’ reports. The more specific the payment, the more complex the verification chain: from the unit commander’s order (zone payments 170K/70K) to a three-day review by the military command authority (assault payments) and 72-hour verification via the “Delta” system (enemy personnel destruction).

For those seconded to other units, payment is announced by order at the place of official service based on an official notification from the unit where the task was actually performed.

The new payment system—from rear allowance to assault daily payments and result bonuses—forms a unified mechanism in which the reward amount increases proportionally to the risk and nature of tasks performed.

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