Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday announced a series of military reforms aimed at boosting morale and addressing complaints of exhaustion and uneven workloads on the frontline. The measures, set to take effect in June, are designed to tackle acute manpower shortages after more than four years of full-scale war with Russia.

In a Telegram message, Zelenskyy stated that the first reforms must be delivered in June, starting with enhanced financial support for soldiers, sergeants, and commanders. Infantry troops will see their monthly salaries increased to 250,000–400,000 hryvnias ($5,700–$9,000), up from a current maximum of around 170,000 hryvnias for those deployed at the front or behind enemy lines for 30 days. Non-combat personnel will receive a raise from 20,000 to 30,000 hryvnias per month.

Zelenskyy also announced a "phased discharge" for troops mobilized early in the war, based on clear, time-based criteria. The change would effectively end the current system of open-ended contracts. He provided no specific timelines for demobilization, saying details are still being finalized.

While hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men volunteered in the opening months of Russia’s 2022 invasion, nearly all new recruits are now conscripts. The military has faced repeated criticism for heavy-handed conscription practices, including reports of forced detentions, street abductions, and so-called "busification," where military-age men are rounded up in public spaces and taken directly to enlistment centers. Cases of soldiers going absent without leave (AWOL) are also widespread, and corruption allows some wealthy or well-connected individuals to evade service through bribes.

In other developments, Ukrainian forces struck an oil terminal in Russia's Black Sea port of Tuapse on Friday, Ukraine’s General Staff reported. Local Russian officials confirmed the attack, saying it sparked a fire but caused no casualties. Meanwhile, Russia intensified its aerial campaign against Ukrainian territory, launching more than 50 drones at the western city of Ternopil, wounding at least 10 people. In the southern Odesa region, overnight drone strikes damaged two multi-story residential buildings and port infrastructure.

Zelenskyy said additional overnight attacks on the central city of Kryvyi Rih and the northeastern Kharkiv region damaged railway infrastructure. He also noted that Ukrainian drone attacks have caused at least $7 billion in damages to Russia's oil industry so far this year, significantly curtailing Russia's oil revenues, a major driver for the war.

Source: www.dw.com