Ukraine approves additional payments for soldiers, police officers serving at 'zero line'
Ukrainian soldiers and police officers who serve directly at the contact line of the front will receive an additional payment of Hr 70,000 ($1,785) per month, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on April 12.
Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, adopted the resolution on additional payments on April 11.
The personnel serving at the"zero line" will get the additional financial reward together with a monthly salary of Hr 20-25,000 ($510-637) and combat payments of Hr 100,000 ($2,550).
Shmyhal said that a one-time financial reward accrues every 30 days for conducting combat missions at the contact line.
Roman Kostenko, a secretary at the Parliamentary National Security Committee, wrote on Facebook on April 6 that the provision for additional payment was previously included in the mobilization bill. However, it was excluded at the last moment before the bill's approval.
After an initial, contentious version of the mobilization bill was withdrawn in January, a new, updated version passed the first reading on Feb. 7. Lawmakers have proposed 4,294 amendments to the bill since then.
On April 11, Ukraine's parliament passed another updated version of the bill, which included the right of disabled soldiers and those who have returned from captivity to discharge themselves and the introduction of mandatory medical commission checks for those who previously held the "partially eligible" status, among other key points.
President Volodymyr Zelensky also signed three separate laws on mobilization in early April: on the lowering of the conscription age to 25, the introduction of an electronic register for conscripts, and the canceling of the "partially eligible" status.
Brian Bonner
