Defense Ministry reports on number of newly signed contracts
Deputy Defence Minister Mstyslav Banik said that the number of new 14-month contracts signed is several times higher than the figure previously cited by former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi.
He made the statement at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Temporary Investigative Commission, Censor.NET reports.
Actual contract figures
Syrskyi previously claimed in an article that up to 2,000 people had signed the new contracts.
When the commission’s chair, Oleksii Honcharenko, asked whether this was accurate, Banik replied that the actual figure was several times higher. However, he said he could not disclose it publicly.
When Honcharenko asked whether the figure was within 1%, he replied: "Possibly, yes."
Banik added that the Ministry of Defence expects the number of signed contracts to continue growing.
Distribution by specialisation
The official also said that among civilians signing the new contracts, around 5% of recruits chose infantry assault roles, while 23% chose combat specialisations. Regarding drone pilots, who are offered an extended 24-month contract, Banik explained that the initial plan was to staff the infantry and expand the programme to other military specialisations only after a sufficient core had been formed.
When Honcharenko asked whether he considered the contract reform successful, Banik replied: "Yes and no. Launching the contracts was an independent part of our work, but the payments were not."
According to the official, the Ministry of Defence had proposed transferring some of the actual powers of the TСR and SS to other institutions and authorities.
