President Petro Poroshenko has said that as of 1 January 2019, servicemen will be paid at least 10,000 hryvnyas (360 dollars) a month. For those on the front line, minimum wage will be 21,000 hryvnyas (760 dollars).
Parliament approved the pay rise when it passed the 2019 budget this morning, Poroshenko said at a meeting with students.
Low pay is one of the reasons why servicemen leave the Ukrainian army after their contracts expire. According to the Defence Ministry, 11,000 officers and contract soldiers with combat experience left the army from January to June 2018.