Verkhovna Rada asked to postpone, refine draft law on military bonuses

A letter has been sent to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, asking to postpone and refine a draft law relating to military bonuses, lawmaker David Arakhamia reported on May 2.

The letter was signed by Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, Valery Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, and other officials working with the military, Arakhamia added.

According to Arakhamia, the signatories of the letter propose forming a working group of representatives from the Verkhovna Rada, the Cabinet of Ministers, the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

This working group would ideally develop a draft law by the end of May that would more accurately address the issue of service members' bonuses.

The military believes that the recently-adopted amendment does not solve issues related to monetary rewards, particularly for conscripts and cadets, Arakhamia wrote.

Moreover, it does not properly take into consideration the differences of serving in particular regions. For example, those who serve on the front line have more heightened responsibilities.

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Kyiv IndependentIgor Kossov