Payments to military personnel require clear and uniform criteria — UNBA Committee

The vagueness of terms in subordinate regulatory acts leads to differing interpretations of the grounds for paying additional compensation to military personnel. The UNBA has proposed harmonizing these acts and establishing transparent criteria for the allocation of funds.

In letters to Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi and Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara, the Ukrainian National Bar Association proposed corresponding amendments to Resolution No. 168 of the Cabinet of Ministers dated February 28, 2022, «On certain payments to military personnel, enlisted personnel and commanding officers, police officers and their families during martial law» and the Procedure for the payment of monetary allowances to military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and certain other persons, approved by Order No. 260 of the Ministry of Defense dated June 7, 2018. The problems were identified by the UNBA Committee on the protection of victims of armed aggression against Ukraine, compensation mechanisms and European integration legal support for recovery during an analysis of law enforcement practices and appeals from military units.

Specifically, the Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution lacks a clear legal definition of the term «line of combat engagement». At the same time, the payment of compensation — including a one-time payment of 70,000 UAH for every 30 days of performing combat (special) missions — is tied to service on this line.

Due to the lack of a definition, military-administrative bodies rely on conflicting departmental interpretations or regulations intended for the civilian sector. As a result, the performance of tasks along natural and water obstacles or in certain sections of the front may not be counted as time spent on the line of combat engagement.

The UNBA has proposed defining it as follows: «a conditional boundary on the earth’s surface, in airspace, on the water’s surface, underground, and at the bottom of bodies of water between the Ukrainian Defense Forces, represented by the relevant troop formations, and enemy forces, as indicated in combat reports for the relevant day, between the front lines, positions, and defensive observation posts, without reference to the precise width or depth of such a conditional line».

In the practice of financial control, the provision regarding the payment of 50,000 UAH for performing combat tasks at command posts is interpreted narrowly and applied only to military personnel who are formally assigned to the relevant command or headquarters. At the same time, individuals involved in combat command rotations who are actually directing combat operations on a specific day are not taken into account.

Therefore, the UNBA proposed extending the provision to include personnel on duty shifts in the combat command of the relevant military unit or combined formation, as well as including artillery battalions in the list. The absence of this term deprives military personnel of artillery, anti-aircraft missile, and naval units — divisions — of equal rights to receive the payment of 50,000 UAH.

Another proposal concerns the category «depth of combat (special) mission execution», which in practice is equated with a battalion defense zone. The UNBA noted that this phrasing creates additional restrictions on the payment of 100,000 UAH and contradicts the Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution. It is proposed to replace it with «areas of military (combat) operations as defined by orders of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine».

The proposed changes are intended to resolve conflicts, ensure a uniform approach to law enforcement, provide commanders and financial and economic services with clear grounds for calculating payments, and minimize the risks of unjustified withholding of funds and financial violations during audits.

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