The figures “up to UAH 460,000” and “from UAH 30,000” in the same text are confusing. Here is an honest breakdown: what makes up a service member’s pay, which payments accrue automatically, which only for specific actions, and why two people in the same brigade can receive amounts that differ tenfold.

A soldier's palm with the 141st SMB brigade patch — a dark blue shield with a gold emblem; a formation of armed troops on a blurred background

Part one: basic pay

This is what a person receives every month regardless of where they are. The reform did not change it. It is made up of five elements:

  • the base salary for the position,
  • pay for military rank,
  • the long-service allowance,
  • the allowance for special conditions of service,
  • a monthly bonus.

The amount depends on position, rank and length of service. For reference: in the example published by the Ministry of Defence, the basic pay of an assault platoon rifleman for June 2026 came to UAH 23,997.

Part two: monthly additional rewards

These four payments compete with each other. If on a given day a person is entitled to several, only one is paid — the largest. All of them are accrued in proportion to the actual time, not automatically for a full month.

UAH 100,000/month — for direct participation in combat. The grounds are broad: conducting combat operations on the line of contact to a depth of up to and including battalion level, detecting air targets, flights in the airspace of regions where fighting is under way, fire strikes as part of the missile forces, artillery or air defence, operations in enemy territory, operations of ships outside port waters, medical personnel in combat areas, demining under combat orders. In other words, the payment covers infantry, reconnaissance, crews, medics and sappers alike — under a single criterion of being present in the combat area and performing a task under a combat order.


Unmanned Systems Forces Day: awards and figures that speak for themselves

UAH 50,000/month — command posts. For those performing tasks at brigade, regiment and battalion command posts from which units are controlled in combat. The criterion is not where the HQ is located, but where the subordinate units are fighting. Units that guard, support and service the command posts themselves do not receive this payment.

UAH 30,000/month — combat and special tasks outside the contact zone. Collective training as part of the Commander-in-Chief’s reserve, command of groupings, demining outside combat areas, comprehensive support of groupings directly in combat areas, air cover and ground defence of critical infrastructure facilities.

UAH 10,000/month — rear-area allowance. For everyone who does not receive any of the higher payments, regardless of whether a new contract has been signed. This is the minimum guaranteed level of additional reward. Not paid: for time on leave with pay retained; to those placed at the commander’s disposal or relieved of their post (except when temporarily acting in a role); to cadets of training units and military educational institutions; to those sent away for training; to those assigned to the rotating personnel of reserve units and replacement companies.

Part three: zonal rewards — how much it adds up to

The zonal payment does not replace the payment for participation in combat — it is added to it. So the simplest approach is to look at the total for each zone — which is exactly how the Ministry of Defence presents it:

Ministry of Defence diagram "Reward system": six levels of payments — UAH 270,000 at the depth of a platoon strongpoint, 170,000 at a company strongpoint, 100,000 in a battalion defence area, 50,000 at command posts, 30,000 for special tasks, 10,000 rear-area allowance; next to it, a map of Ukraine marking the combat zone

At a platoon strongpoint and further forward, it comes to UAH 270,000 a month — that is 100,000 for participation in combat plus 170,000 in zonal pay. At a company strongpoint — UAH 170,000 (100,000 plus 70,000). In a battalion defence area — UAH 100,000.

The UAH 170,000 rate also applies in temporarily occupied territory, in the area between the positions of the Defence Forces and enemy positions, and in enemy territory.

All amounts are accrued in proportion to the days of participation, not automatically for a full month. If a person was in different zones during the month, payments are calculated for each zone separately and added together.

Ministry of Defence diagram "Zonal rewards": UAH 170,000 per month up to the platoon strongpoint, in temporarily occupied territory and in enemy territory; UAH 70,000 up to the company strongpoint; accrued in proportion to the days spent there

One day is a full calendar day, regardless of the number of deployments. If a task was carried out across two calendar days, it counts as two days.

Confirmation: a combat order, the combat log or a combat report, and a report by the unit commander for each service member. Payment orders are issued by the 5th of the current month based on the records for the previous month.

Part four: daily assault payments

Accrued for each day of specific actions:

  • UAH 40,000 per day — an assault that captures positions directly on the line of contact or deep in the enemy’s defences.
  • UAH 20,000 per day — retaking positions seized by infiltrated enemy groups deep within our own defences.

If on the same day there are grounds for both rates, the higher one is paid.

Ministry of Defence diagram: daily assault payments — UAH 40,000 per day for capturing positions, UAH 20,000 for retaking our own; performance bonuses — UAH 100,000 per prisoner taken and UAH 15,000 for eliminating the enemy in close combat with video evidence

The confirmation procedure here is the most complex: the unit commander submits a request to the military command authority, which considers it within three days and issues an administrative instruction. Only after that does the military unit issue a payment order.

Part five: performance bonuses

UAH 100,000 — for each enemy service member taken prisoner. An important detail that is often misunderstood: the amount is accrued to the unit or groupthat made the capture and is shared among the participants according to each one’s personal contribution. It is not UAH 100,000 for each individual soldier.

UAH 15,000 — for eliminating enemy personnel in small-arms or hand-to-hand combat. It is likewise accrued to the unit or group. A mandatory condition is video evidence. The data are entered into the Delta system, verification takes 72 hours, after which the unit commander issues an order within three days.

The UAH 460,000 ceiling — and what it actually limits

This is the most commonly misunderstood point. The cap applies to the sum of exactly three categories:

  1. UAH 100,000 for direct participation in combat,
  2. UAH 170,000 or 70,000 — the zonal payment,
  3. UAH 40,000 or 20,000 × the number of assault days.

If together these three categories exceed UAH 460,000 in a month, exactly UAH 460,000 is paid.

Paid separately, outside the cap: basic pay, the one-off payment for signing a first contract, the bonus for taking prisoners and the bonus for eliminating enemy personnel.

In other words, UAH 460,000 is the ceiling for one component, not for the whole payment. How this works in practice can be seen in example 2 below: there, combat payments came to UAH 493,334, the cap kicked in, and the total for the month came to UAH 525,621 — over half a million.

This also shows the flip side: such an amount reflects a month spent in assault operations. It is not an “infantryman’s salary” in the general sense. A month on rotation in the rear would give the same person an amount closer to 30–40 thousand.

Ministry of Defence diagram: overall cap on combat payments of UAH 460,000 per month — it covers 100,000 for participation in combat, zonal pay of 170,000 or 70,000 and daily assault payments; outside the cap remain basic pay, bonuses for prisoners and eliminations, and the one-off payment for the first contract

Three official calculation examples

The Ministry of Defence published three calculations for June 2026. They show the spread better than any explanation: from 77 thousand in the rear to 525 thousand on assaults.

Example 1. Rifleman of a mechanised platoon — UAH 357,210. Called up through mobilisation in October 2025, first contract from 16 June 2026. Over the month: 30 days at a platoon strongpoint, 2 days of retaking positions.

It breaks down as follows: basic pay of UAH 20,586, a one-off payment for the first contract of UAH 26,624 (UAH 3,328 × 8 months), a zonal payment for the platoon strongpoint of UAH 170,000 for 30 days, a payment for participation in combat of UAH 100,000 for the same 30 days, and daily assault payments of UAH 40,000 (20,000 × 2 days). Total: UAH 357,210. Of this, 310,000 is combat pay — the 460,000 cap is not exceeded, so everything is paid.

Ministry of Defence calculation example: rifleman of a mechanised platoon — basic pay UAH 20,586, one-off payment UAH 26,624, zonal payment UAH 170,000, participation in combat UAH 100,000, daily assault payments UAH 40,000, total UAH 357,210

Example 2. Rifleman of an assault platoon — UAH 525,621. First contract from 17 June 2026. Over the month: 25 days at a platoon strongpoint, 5 days at a company strongpoint, 6 days of assaults, 1 enemy eliminated in small-arms combat with video evidence.

Components: basic pay of UAH 23,997, a one-off payment for the first contract of UAH 26,624 (UAH 3,328 × 8 months), a zonal payment for the platoon strongpoint of UAH 141,667 (170,000 ÷ 30 × 25 days), zonal pay for the company strongpoint of UAH 11,667 (70,000 ÷ 30 × 5 days), a payment for participation in combat of UAH 100,000 for 30 days, daily assault payments of UAH 240,000 (40,000 × 6 days) and a bonus of UAH 15,000 for eliminating the enemy.

This is where the cap kicked in. Combat payments add up to 141,667 + 11,667 + 100,000 + 240,000 = UAH 493,334, which is above the ceiling. So exactly 460,000 went into the calculation, and the total came out as follows: 23,997 + 26,624 + 460,000 + 15,000 = UAH 525,621. The bonus for eliminating the enemy is not capped — it is paid on top of the limit.

Ministry of Defence calculation example: rifleman of an assault platoon — combat payments of UAH 493,334 exceeded the cap, the UAH 460,000 ceiling was applied, total for the month UAH 525,621

Example 3. Records clerk at a rear-area military unit — UAH 77,123. First basic contract from 15 June 2026, 30 days of performing tasks in areas of combat operations.

The components are simple: basic pay of UAH 20,499, a one-off payment for the first contract of UAH 26,624 (UAH 3,328 × 8 months) and a payment for performing special tasks of UAH 30,000. Total: UAH 77,123. The cap does not apply here — it is a long way short of 460,000.

Ministry of Defence calculation example: records clerk at a rear-area military unit — basic pay UAH 20,499, one-off payment UAH 26,624, special-task payment UAH 30,000, total UAH 77,123

Why vacancy ads show smaller amounts

Vacancy cards usually state pay without combat payments — that is, the guaranteed part a person will receive in any case. Combat payments depend on how many days and under what exact conditions the service member performed tasks, so it is impossible to state them honestly in advance.

The right way to read a vacancy ad: the amount in the vacancy is the lower limit, not the upper one.

What else is paid

  • UAH 27,000 – 33,000 — a one-off payment for signing a first contract, depending on military rank. Paid outside the UAH 460,000 cap.
  • from UAH 20,000 — an annual health-improvement allowance. Paid when going on full-length annual leave or its second part, and also without leave — upon a report (formal request) from the service member during the current year.

Who confirms entitlement to payments

The general principle: confirmation is based on primary combat documents — orders, combat logs, combat reports and reports by unit commanders. The more specific the payment, the longer the verification chain: from an order by the unit commander (zonal payments) to a three-day review by the military command authority (daily assault payments) and 72-hour verification through the Delta system (eliminating enemy personnel).

Ready to start?

Fill in the form Open positions
Sources
  • Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. “Transformation of the Defence Forces: how the new system of combat payments will work” — mod.gov.ua/news/transformacziya-sil-oboroni-yak-praczyuvatime-nova-sistema-bojovih-viplat
  • Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 768 of 12.06.2026 — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/768-2026-p
  • Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168 of 28.02.2022 — zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/168-2022-p
  • Ministry of Defence Order No. 232 of 29.06.2026 (amendments to the Procedure for Paying Monetary Allowance, Order No. 260 of 07.06.2018)
  • Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. “Additional reward of UAH 10,000: conditions and exceptions” — mod.gov.ua/explanation/dodatkova-vynahoroda-10-000-hrn-umovy-vykliuchennia-vidpovidi-na-pytannia