The Ukrainian government is faced with a dilemma: restore bonuses for non-combat servicemen, at the risk of further affecting the already difficult budget balance, or abandon these bonuses, as recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in which case The risk of discontent is growing in the ranks of the army, the EFE agency reported on Friday, as reported by Agerpres.

For economic reasons, the Kyiv government decided in February to cancel the allowance of 30,000 hryvnias (over 730 euros), which all military personnel who do not perform combat missions receive since the beginning of the war with Russia. For military personnel participating in hostilities, the bonus is still 100,000 hryvnias, which is equivalent to about 2,400 euros.

After criticism from those affected by the cancellation of this bonus, the Ukrainian parliament restored it through a law voted on April 10, but which does not provide for sufficient mechanisms to collect the funds intended for these payments.

Without funding sources to cover costs, the new law did not enter into force. At the same time, the opposition accuses the government and the party of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi of wanting to save on the army in order to spend on other things. For its part, the government accuses the opposition of populism.

But the Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army himself, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, asked to postpone the restoration of the allowance for non-commissioned troops.

The IMF representative for Ukraine Vahram Stepanyan is of the same opinion, who warned that the re-introduction of this allowance will cost the budget of Ukraine another four billion dollars. On March 31, the IMF approved a package of financial support for Ukraine worth 15.6 billion dollars.

And the criteria by which soldiers are considered combatants or non-combatants are a matter of controversy

Ukraine receives significant economic aid from its allies to overcome the crisis caused by Russian military aggression, but the funds received in this way cannot be directed directly to the army, for which Kyiv must find other solutions.

Although formally the abolition of bonuses only applies to non-combatant soldiers, the criteria by which soldiers are considered combatant or non-combatant is a matter of controversy, as many soldiers are deployed on the front lines and thus risk their lives without benefiting from a combat bonus, since they are not considered to be directly participating in hostilities.

The basic salary of a Ukrainian soldier is about 20,000 hryvnias, which is equivalent to less than 500 euros.

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