300 thousand for a frontline infantryman: Zelensky announced new contracts and payments in the army

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced a series of changes for the Ukrainian army that are set to take effect already in June. They involve increased payments to military personnel, new contracts for infantrymen, simplified transfers between units, and expanded recruitment of foreign volunteers.

The head of state said this on 12 June 2026 in his address.

According to Volodymyr Zelensky, the day before he held meetings with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Finance Serhii Marchenko, and military leadership. The agreed path is intended to strengthen the financial resilience of the defense sector and continue the transformation of the Ukrainian army.

The main change concerns payments to servicemembers. The minimum payment for a servicemember in the rear should be 30,000 hryvnias. At the same time, the level of monetary compensation will increase depending on the number and nature of combat tasks.

Separately, Zelensky announced new contracts for infantrymen. According to him, a Ukrainian infantryman on the front line should receive on average 300,000 hryvnias per month.

They also plan to introduce three contract terms — 10 months, 14 months, and 24 months. The conditions must be clearly defined, with guaranteed durations and real deferments.

In addition, payments for combat commanders are to increase. The president believes this should serve as an incentive to retain experienced leadership in the army.

A separate area of change is international recruiting. Volodymyr Zelensky has instructed the creation of more opportunities to bring foreign volunteers into the Ukrainian army.

“I am grateful to all volunteers from other countries who are fighting for our freedom in Ukraine, understanding that this concerns the freedom of many other peoples. I have instructed to open significantly more opportunities to recruit foreign volunteers into the Ukrainian army, and there will be more recruitment mechanisms in this regard.”

Also among the decisions are further simplification of transfers of servicemembers between units, more opportunities for career advancement in the army, and additional incentives to join the Defense Forces.

The detailed mechanisms for implementing these decisions are to be presented by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Earlier we wrote:

• They want to raise military salaries: Fedorov presents changes regarding service to deputies
• Budanov explained why Ukraine needs mobilization
• Recruiting does not cover the army’s needs: what the authorities say
• Ukraine is preparing large-scale changes to military service
• Soldiers are promised new service conditions: what could change this summer