The Ministry of Defense has clarified the number of new military contracts
The number of new 14-month contracts signed by military personnel is several times higher than the previously reported 2,000. The Ministry of Defense has not yet disclosed the exact figure.
Deputy Minister of Defense Mstislav Banik made this statement during a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada’s Temporary Investigative Commission.
Earlier, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that up to 2,000 servicemembers had signed new contracts. Banik confirmed that the actual number is several times higher, though it remains less than 1% of the total number of servicemembers.
At the same time, the Ministry of Defense had expected a significantly higher number of people willing to sign new contracts. Banik noted that he anticipates further growth in these figures.
Among civilians signing new contracts, about 5% chose the infantry-assault branch, and 23% selected combat specialties.
Regarding the 24-month contracts for drone operators, Banik explained that the initial plan was to focus on staffing infantry units. Once the necessary core personnel had been established, the program was to be expanded to other military specialties.
Source: live broadcast of the meeting.
As a reminder, during Operation “Honest Draft,” law enforcement officials uncovered illegal activities by two recruitment groups from the Kyiv District Military Registration and Enlistment Office and the Odesa Regional Military Registration and Enlistment Office. Ten military personnel were notified of their status as suspects.
Earlier, law enforcement officials detained the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Registration and Enlistment Office and the Odesa Regional Military Registration and Enlistment Office on suspicion of receiving improper benefits totaling 15,000 U.S. dollars. According to the investigation, the official was caught in the act of receiving $10,000 for failing to implement mobilization measures against three conscripts, removing them from the “Oberig” system’s wanted list, and ensuring conditions for their continued employment at their places of work.
In Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, a senior lieutenant—the deputy commander of a company at one of the district Military Registration and Enlistment Offices—was detained on suspicion of assaulting a subordinate servicemember. The man was intoxicated at the time.
