“International CCCs” and large payments: MPs spoke about the Ministry of Defense’s concept for further mobilization
Ukraine is looking for new ways to strengthen the army, as the burden on the army remains high, and the mobilization system requires solutions that will yield results without chaotic steps. The Ministry of Defense is discussing the concept of wider involvement of foreigners in service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, increasing payments to frontline soldiers, and the participation of licensed companies, which deputies call “international CCCs.” At the same time, the Council emphasizes that so far this is only a general vision that does not yet have formal documents, sources of funding, and legislative mechanisms.
What is being discussed in the Ministry of Defense
According to information from people’s deputies familiar with the concept of the Ministry of Defense, such a mechanism may involve the participation of licensed companies that will look for trained fighters abroad, as well as a significant increase in payments for military personnel performing tasks on the front line. The Ministry of Defense is considering the possibility of mass recruitment of foreigners to serve in the Ukrainian army. This was told to the publication by people’s deputies who are familiar with the concept of changes prepared by the defense department.
People’s Deputy from the “Servant of the People” party, member of the parliamentary budget committee Roman Kaptyolov attended the meeting of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov with the monomajority faction. According to him, the state may grant third-party companies licenses to attract foreign military personnel, in particular infantrymen.
“The minister listed that the state will license them, that is, give them the right to recruit people (infantrymen), and for this, companies will receive up to $5,000 per person. And these people who will be recruited will receive the highest salaries in the world among the military: from $7,000 to $10,000,” Kaptelov noted.
What payments can military personnel on the front line receive?
People’s Deputy from “Batkivshchyna”, member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security Vadym Ivchenko noted that the salary of recruited foreigners should be at the level of payments to Ukrainian military personnel, who are at zero.
“The salaries of foreigners will be the same as those of Ukrainians who are at zero. The Minister of Defense proposed to raise the salaries of people at zero and military commanders, because they have a great responsibility. Therefore, a person on the front line, as follows from the minister’s presentation, should expect 400 thousand hryvnias or more. Moreover, there will be additional payments for each day of being at zero, including for the destruction of enemy equipment,” Ivchenko said.
According to the deputies, this approach concerns not only the attraction of foreigners, but also a revision of the motivation system for Ukrainian military personnel, who bear the greatest burden on the front line. The concept separately mentions additional payments for the performance of combat missions and the destruction of enemy equipment.
At the same time, Roman Kaptyolov drew attention to the fact that during the discussion it was not clearly explained from what sources the state will be able to finance such high payments. According to him, the budget of the Ukrainian army is 2.8 trillion hryvnias, but members of the budget committee do not see the full structure of the distribution of these funds due to the secrecy of defense procurement.
“As a member of the budget committee, I understand that the budget of our army is 2.8 trillion hryvnias. However, we, as a committee, do not see this money and do not know how it is distributed, because all tenders are classified. Therefore, it is not clear where the funds will come from for the military, who will receive 7-10 thousand dollars a month. And we also need to pay the companies (“international TCC”) that will recruit them. If we talk about credit funds, then European partners are against payments to the military. It cannot be that the state suddenly finds 5-10 thousand dollars for a mobilized person abroad,” Roman Kaptyolov emphasized.
Thus, the financial part of the concept remains one of the main issues. To launch such a mechanism, the state will need not only to determine the sources of payments to the military, but also to provide for payment for the services of companies that will be engaged in international recruiting.
Who can be recruited abroad
Vadim Ivchenko reported that international recruiting may have different quality depending on who Ukraine will work with. According to him, a simple recruitment of people without experience will not give the desired result, since such foreigners will have to be trained from scratch.
“Many people do not understand what international recruiting is. On the one hand, you can recruit people who do not know how to do anything somewhere in the slums of Colombia or Brazil. They are poor and will simply take up arms and come to Ukraine. But they still need to be trained, pass the BZVP. But there are many recruiting centers in the world that have databases of people who already know how to handle weapons, take part in operations in Africa, the Middle East. And if they agree to sign a contract, they can strengthen our positions from scratch. If this work is built with the right companies that will bring trained, ready guys to defend Ukraine, it will definitely strengthen the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, – noted Vadym Ivchenko.
According to such logic, the main criterion should be the training of people who will be recruited into the army. The deputies point out that it may be useful for the Armed Forces not to mass recruit random volunteers, but to work with those who already have military experience and are able to join combat missions more quickly.
Will this replace the mobilization reform
Member of the National Security Committee, People’s Deputy from the “European Solidarity” Iryna Friz believes that the involvement of foreigners can only be an additional tool, since mobilization problems require broader solutions.
“After all, the issue of mobilization requires a comprehensive reform. The involvement of foreigners is an auxiliary mechanism, but not a decisive one. But it is definitely necessary to expand this format and give recruiting centers more powers and expand their capabilities. This should be supported, of course, by finances,” Friz believes.
According to her, there are no decisions yet that would launch such a mechanism in practice. This is a preliminary vision that has not yet been formalized into regulatory documents.
“There are no specific solutions at the moment. There is only a general vision of the concept that is not supported by regulatory documents. The problematic nuances of mobilization need to be resolved at the level of amendments to the legislation, not by-laws of the Cabinet of Ministers,” emphasized Iryna Friz.
The discussed concept provides for several sensitive changes at once: attracting foreigners through licensed recruiting companies, possible payments at the level of 7-10 thousand dollars, increasing the monetary support for the Ukrainian military to zero, and expanding the role of recruiting centers.
At the same time, the deputies emphasize that such a model does not yet have a final legal form. Its implementation requires sources of financing, legislative changes, clear rules for selecting foreigners, and control over companies that may be eligible for recruitment.
