Putin cuts payments for wounded in war against Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin approved on Nov. 13 a reduction in compensation for wounded soldiers participating in the war against Ukraine.

The current maximum amount of compensation is 3 million rubles (nearly $29,000), but the severity of the injury is not considered for its allocation. The change approved by Putin classifies injuries into three categories.

The payment for a "severe" injury is 3 million rubles (nearly $29,000), and for a "minor" injury, 1 million rubles (nearly $10,000). For "other minor injuries," soldiers will receive compensation of 100,000 rubles ($960), according to Russian state news agency TASS.

The decree signed by Putin does not specify how the severity of a given injury is classified.

Deputy Defense Minister Anna Tsivileva said at a meeting with the ministry's head, Andrei Belousov, on Nov. 13 that the current rules on payments for injuries create a "sense of distortion" among the soldiers.

In October, Russian forces in Ukraine suffered their deadliest month since the start of the full-scale invasion. U.K. Defense Minister John Healey said that Moscow's troops suffered 41,980 killed and wounded during October, according to British defense intelligence figures.

While Russian forces are suffering record losses, they're also making increasingly swift gains in the east of Ukraine.

According to a Bloomberg analysis published on Nov. 1, Ukraine has lost 1,146 square kilometers of its own territory since the launch of the Kursk Oblast incursion in early August, with the week up until Nov. 1 reported as the worst in terms of lost territory in all of 2024.

Meanwhile, Russia encourages its citizens to sign contracts with the army, offering financial benefits.

Instead of ordering a new wave of conscription, Putin ordered an increase in the sign-on bonus for new military recruits to serve in Ukraine to 400,000 rubles (over $4,600), effectively doubling the lump-sum payment of 195,000 ($2,260) rubles initially promised to recruits in September 2022.

Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced on Oct. 7 that residents in the region will be paid a nationwide record 3 million rubles (about $31,200) through a one-time signing bonus for joining the military.

The additional payments are in line with efforts by Russian officials to entice more citizens to join the military as the country seeks to replenish its military, decimated by high losses in Ukraine.

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The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova