War

The General Staff has expanded the Contract 18-24 program. What is known?

Another 10 combat brigades have joined the program of signing contracts for people aged 18 to 24.

This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.

Thus, from now on, those who want to sign a contract for 18-24 years old can join the following brigades:

• 25th separate airborne Sicheslav airborne brigade;
• 80th separate airborne assault brigade of the Air Assault Forces;
• 3rd separate assault brigade;
• 24th separate mechanized brigade named after King Danylo;
• 93rd separate mechanized brigade “Kholodny Yar”;
• 30th separate mechanized brigade named after Prince Kostiantyn Ostrozkyi;
• 128th separate Transcarpathian mountain assault brigade;
• 36th Separate Marine Brigade named after Admiral Mykhailo Bilynskyi;
• 39th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade of the 30th Marine Corps;
• 59th separate assault brigade named after Yakiv Handziuk.

Earlier it was also reported that the program is planned to be expanded to include two brigades of the National Guard of Ukraine, namely the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov and the 13th Brigade Charter.

What is known about the “Contract 18-24“
In February, amid calls from partners to mobilize young people, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a new system of contracts for citizens under the age of mobilization. In this way, people who cannot yet be mobilized by law “will be able to prove themselves,” Zelensky said.

Contracts for service in the Armed Forces for people aged 18 to 24 are voluntary. They are concluded for one year and include a “motivational component.”

• a one-time payment of one million hryvnias (200 thousand immediately, the remaining 800 thousand in two installments for the duration of the contract)
• monthly cash support of up to UAH 120,000;
• provision of a “zero” mortgage;
• training at public expense;
• free medical care;
• the right to travel abroad after a year of service;
• exemption from mobilization for 12 months after the end of the contract.

At the same time, contract soldiers will hold only combat positions, and during the one-year contract, volunteers will perform combat missions on the front line for six months. There will be 6 brigades to choose from. To sign a contract, volunteers will have to meet the requirements, and may be rejected due to health problems.

The government wants contract soldiers and conscripts aged 18 to 24 to be able to study at higher education institutions without interrupting their service – the draft law will soon be submitted to the President of Ukraine for signature.

After an outcry among the current military, the Ministry of Defense assured that volunteers under the age of 25 who joined the Defense Forces before the new contract for young people appeared could also receive a million hryvnias.