Ukrainian soldiers have told openDemocracy that a new salary structure, introduced under the extreme economic pressures of Russia’s war, is leaving them unable to buy combat essentials or pay for medical treatment.
As Russian forces bore down on Kyiv in February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi promised soldiers extremely high wages: each month, in addition to the basic pay of 13,000 hryvnias (£293), they would get an additional 100,000 hryvnias (£2,250) – a sevenfold increase.
“They should know the country is definitely grateful to them,” Zelenskyi said at the time.
