Ukraine plans to introduce fixed-term military contracts alongside its system of conscription, moving to address a pressing need to attract recruits and ease the strain on soldiers worn down by years of fighting.
Until now, Ukrainian soldiers have served under open-ended contracts, leaving them with no control over their future. Enthusiasm for enlistment has waned, with Ukrainians fearful that indefinite duty amounts to a one-way ticket to the front line.
Under the new system, both current service members and recruits will be able to sign fixed-term contracts lasting one to five years, Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said Monday night as he announced the plan.
The new system will not replace mobilization, which Ukraine has long relied on to replenish its battered army. But Mr. Shmyhal said that any soldier who signed a contract of two years or more would receive a one-year deferment from potential future mobilization after completing the term.
The provision appears intended to motivate Ukrainians who had been reluctant to serve. After nearly four years of full-scale war, Ukraine faces a nationwide challenge of draft avoidance. The Ukrainian Army cannot afford to discharge worn-out soldiers unless it signs up enough replacements, especially as its troops are outnumbered by the Russian forces on the battlefield.
Mykola Bielieskov, a military analyst at Ukraine’s government-run National Institute for Strategic Studies, said the new contracts could “give people a sense of dignity” and provide “some sound, positive stimulus for Ukrainians to join defense forces." But analysts and Ukrainian lawmakers also noted that the plan was short on details and that its success would depend on how it was implemented.
The announcement followed a series of earlier initiatives that were intended to improve recruitment but have so far largely failed to address Ukraine’s shortage of troops.
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