The Mykolaiv City Council did not support the motion calling on the Verkhovna Rada to review payments to military personnel

The Mykolaiv City Council did not support the appeal to the central government regarding payments to military personnel. Archive NikVesti

Members of the Mykolaiv City Council did not support an appeal to the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers calling for a review of the approaches to the financial and social provision of military personnel. In particular, the appeal proposed changing the system for calculating payments, on which the size of military personnel’s pensions and other social guarantees depends.

This was reported on Thursday, 30 July, during a session of the Mykolaiv City Council, according to NikVesti.

The appeal was initiated by city councillor Olena Kiseliova, chair of the «European Solidarity» faction. According to her, the current system means that a significant proportion of additional payments to military personnel are not taken into account when calculating pensions.

«If a serviceman receives 300,000 hryvnias on his bank card for his achievements, this amount is not included in his pension calculation because it is not classified as a protected income category. People have spent ten years defending us and are retiring on meagre pensions. That is precisely why we are asking for the calculation basis to be reviewed,» said Olena Kiseliova.

She also noted that the base rate, on which part of military personnel’s payments is calculated, has not changed since 2018.

«The system for adjusting financial allowances in the country has long been in need of reform. The basic calculation rate is 1,760 hryvnias. It has not changed since the end of 2018. Everything else is an additional allowance. But when a person retires or is due to receive social security, everything is calculated based on the minimum,» added the MP.

However, MP Ramil Ahabekov of the «Servant of the People» party stated that the appeal was politically motivated. He pointed out that the Verkhovna Rada had already approved amendments to the state budget for 2026, which increased funding for the security and defence sector.

«On 10 June, the Verkhovna Rada adopted amendments to the 2026 state budget. Expenditure on the security and defence sector has been increased by more than 1.5 trillion hryvnias, of which 174 billion hryvnias is for the pay of military personnel. I therefore consider this appeal to be more of a political and populist move,» he said.

In response, Olena Kiseliova emphasised that her appeal does not concern the level of funding for the defence sector, but raises the specific issue of changing the base level of pay, on which military personnel’s pensions and social benefits depend.

«There’s no need to talk about billions. The point of the discussion is to draw attention to the low level of the basic pay for military personnel. I realise it won’t be the same as that of prosecutors, but it certainly needs to be more than 1,760,» she replied.

Following the discussion, the matter was put to a vote. Twenty councillors voted in favour of the motion, whilst eight abstained. Due to an insufficient number of votes, the motion was not passed.

It should be noted that members of the Mykolaiv City Council have been urged to appeal to the President, the Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to review their approaches to the financial and social support of the country’s defenders, in particular to restore 40 billion hryvnias for the support of the military, which the Government had previously decided to withdraw from the Ministry of Defence’s budget for other purposes.