In February, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine officially launched the “Contract 18-24” project. This is a voluntary initiative for Ukrainians aged 18-24 who are ready to join the Defense Forces for one year. After determining the candidate’s suitability for military service, the commander of the military unit signs a one-year contract with them. A mandatory condition of the contract is direct participation in combat operations in areas of military (combat) action.
After signing the contract, the commander issues an order appointing the candidate to the selected or proposed vacant position and officially enlists them in the military unit, providing all necessary support and resources. Additionally, within three working days, the commander must inform the head of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, where the individual is registered for military service, as well as their employer, about their enlistment. Once the contract is signed and the service member begins fulfilling their duties, the first installment of the financial reward, 200,000 UAH (~4,470 EUR), is paid within five working days.
After signing the contract, the recruit is sent for intensive training, which includes: 45 days of basic general military training, 14 days of specialized training, and a 14 day adaptation course within the military unit.
After completing training and adaptation, the service member begins duty in the selected unit. From this moment, they are assigned to combat (or special) tasks, which is confirmed by a separate order from the unit commander. Based on this order, the second installment of the financial reward, 300,000 UAH (~6,700 EUR), is paid. During service, the service member also receives a monthly salary according to their position, along with additional payments for direct participation in combat operations. Upon completion of the one-year contract and issuance of the order for removal from the personnel list, the service member, provided all contractual obligations have been fulfilled, receives the final installment of the financial reward, 500,000 UAH (~11,175 EUR). From this moment, they gain the right to apply for a preferential mortgage with a “zero” interest rate, as well as the right to travel abroad freely.
The volunteer also decides for themselves whether to continue service or return to civilian life. The law guarantees exemption from mobilization for 12 months after the completion of the military contract. Volunteers can pick which unit to join, and the initiative gradually expands to more Ukrainian units. The following units currently accept volunteers from the Contract 18-24 initiative.
https://militaryland.net/news/contract-18-24-the-new-army-project-in-detail/
Comment: Only in April 2024 did Zelensky sign new conscription laws, passed by the Verkhovna Rada, that lowered the conscription age from 27 to 25. The thought of not drafting the youth in a time of war always seemed odd to me, but preserving the youth of Ukraine for the future seems to be the point of that decision.
A training period of nine weeks isn’t too shabby for this stage of the war if that training period stands. Initial US Army training in WWII was thirteen weeks. I’ve read stories of only two weeks of training for drafted/recruited Ukrainian convicts and plenty of tales of Russians being captured after being recruited/drafted just days before.
What I find more important than the nine weeks of training is that the recruits will go to established and experienced units rather than being used to create new brigades from scratch. That was a horribly misguided policy. The young recruits will get their real training with their squadmates and NCOs. Hopefully this training will begin before being engaged in combat, but that certainly is not guaranteed.
TTG
The theory is to rid itself of anyone who remembers when Ukraine had more civil relations with Russia which allows for the hatred to blossom.
Just look at their government leadership. There are no senior statements or officials. Most are relatively young to include their military leadership. I picked up on this early on but Nuland showed her hand when she was choosing their leaders on that leaked call. She was never going to allow any of the older generation in the room, otherwise the coup fails.
I wonder how much facing an existential threat is impacting recruiting? The younger ones may not remember much about being part of the Soviet Union, but their elders should have plenty of knowledge to pass on. Russia has been a threat for a decade or so, which should have impacted the younger generation and that could motivate them too. Compare that to Russia, where most of the recruiting is done in the poorer areas of the country. Now we have to wait for some of the intellectual laggards to realize that Putin does not really want to stop the fighting. He needs it to stay in power, but the effort is fraying the economic system and affecting more and more people. Russia is now also having to face the Taurus, which may not be a game changer, but will drive up their cost.
As has been pointed out, Ukraine is doing very well with their drones too.
Lars,
Ukraine is doing well, so we’ll they butchered an entire generation. Just like the European aristocracy managed to do in WW1. Special shout out to Vicky “Cookies” Nuland, Barack and Biden, and Boris Johnson. This Easter rest assured God will give them all they truly deserve.
Fred Thanks for your observation. I just read that there was KIA swap of 900 Ukranian soldiers to 41 Russian soldiers. That ought to tell us who is dying in the battlefield.
Muralidhar Rao,
You got that wrong. Ukraine sent 900 Russian KIAs back to Russia.
I think you got the numbers mixed up, TTG.
The Ukrainian Department responsible for the treatment of POWs said it was 909 dead Ukrainian defenders returned to Ukraine
https://koordshtab.gov.ua/posts/v-ukrayinu-povernuly-tila-909-polehlykh-oborontsiv-2079
Poul,
You’re right. I got it wrong. It was 909 Ukrainian bodies returned.
Nope.
He’s perfectly right.
On April 18, another exchange of bodies of fallen servicemen took place in the SVO zone between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine received the bodies of 909 fallen servicemen, Russia 41.
In total,years 23-25, Russia transferred 6881 bodies, Ukraine 1374 bodies.
https://koordshtab.gov.ua/posts/v-ukrayinu-povernuly-tila-909-polehlykh-oborontsiv-2079?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Why has the Russian Air Force been so ineffective in Ukraine?
Max Afterburner spends 14 minutes discussing that:
https://youtu.be/KB5EgIVX9KY
He asserts
“Russia has lost about 25% of its air force.”
I suspect the unusual habit of viewing it wrong to send very young men as wrong stems from their very different experience of war, which for the past few has been nothing short of horrific. For us most came back from our wars, but for them most did not. “O for God’s sake, at least give them a chance to start a family!”
Ukrainian government resisted lower the draft age because of blowback. The gain in conscripts would have been small because of the deficit in the 18-25 cohorts. But the anger from parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts, not to mention sisters and brothers, would have been large. The regime was faced with a cost-benefit trade-off.
In 2 months only 500 contracts signed.
2 already dead.
Emigration, Poverty, industrialization, corruption, low birth rate and an entire generation dead.
Ukraine is truly dying.
TTG, where’s your victory ?
Deindustrialization*
Of course !
A quite detailed look at the involvement of Great Britain in supporting Ukraine,
summarizing the report in the Sunday Times:
https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2025/04/17/western-media-continues-to-prepare-the-public-for-defeat-in-ukraine/
I wonder if English Outsider has any comments on this.
Keith – the writer’s merely another twisty information warrior. I term those the sewer rats of Western academe and the Western press. And that’s unfair to sewer rats. The article’s just more lipstick on the pig. So too the NYT article. All part of the blame game that’s been in progress since before Vilnius.
It’s scarcely news that we micro-managed this war, and that badly. What were the Western General Staffs up to, throwing away the lives of our proxies so casually and so amateurishly? Plus the scrubby stuff.