Ukraine is offering foreign fighters higher salaries and longer fixed-term contracts to perform dangerous frontline infantry and assault roles, a move soldiers say could help address one of kyiv’s biggest manpower problems.

However, foreign fighters told Business Insider that the success of the effort will depend on whether Ukraine can persuade recruits to stay longer rather than leaving right after reaching the six-month minimum.

“Obviously, more people will come for the money,” said Ryan O’Leary, company commander of Chosen, a volunteer unit in Ukraine. However, he said it will not automatically solve the country’s labor problems because kyiv still has a “revolving door” of foreigners leaving after short contracts.

Ukraine announced a significant overhaul of its pay for military personnel last month, with officials presenting an ambitious plan for higher salaries, more combat bonuses and longer fixed-term contracts.

The combat pay plan includes new six- to 14-month contracts for infantry and assault troops, with service members eligible for an average monthly salary of 300,000 UAH (nearly $7,000) and a maximum of 460,000 UAH (more than $10,000), depending on the number of days on the front lines.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Defense Minister, described them as “the highest salaries in the world for infantry”, calling these frontline roles “the most difficult and risky job” at the moment. He said that the objective is to fill between 30% and 50% of these positions with foreigners.

These jobs can be some of the deadliest. Frontline positions are often described as death zones, and the threat of drones makes it difficult to not only survive but even get there. However, salary can be a great motivation.

“Now we see that a large number of foreigners come to Ukraine to fight, because the current salary already attracts them,” Fedorov said last month. “If we talk about an increase, this will attract foreigners even more, and then they will be able to strengthen our front line.”

O’Leary said higher salaries and longer contracts could help by forcing foreign fighters to stay for a year or more. The problem, he said, is that many of them have historically treated the six months as the end point, leaving Ukraine with little return on the time and money invested in training and equipping soldiers.

When a recruit finishes basic training and arrives at a combat unit, a short six-month contract may have only a few weeks left for front-line operations, he said. That makes having longer contract options key, but only if Ukraine can give fighters a compelling enough reason to choose it.

‘You have to pay’

Foreign volunteers have flocked to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, and many of them have been driven to fight by ideological or political reasons (a sense of duty to protect a nation under attack by its much larger neighbor) rather than financial incentives.

However, the situation changed as the war dragged on, said Kante, a foreign fighter who asked to be identified by his call sign for security reasons.

He said there are fewer “motivated foreign fighters,” adding that many of these volunteers have been killed in combat or left, and Ukraine must now fill those vacancies. Now, more and more volunteers are joining for financial reasons.

Ukraine no longer competes only for idealists; It is also competing in a global market for experienced fighters.

“If you want guys, you have to pay,” he said.

Kante, who has served in infantry and assault roles for Ukraine, said the salary must be competitive with what experienced fighters in other conflicts can earn, such as that of a former South American officer familiar with fighting rebels who is weighing a contract in a place like Sudan.

The Ukrainian military considers the new contracts to be positive for Kyiv. Yuriy, an officer in an electronic warfare unit who could only be identified by his first name, described the search for foreign fighters as “one of the best solutions” to address manpower challenges.

“I think it’s just a solution to fill the gaps,” said Alex, a sergeant with Ukraine’s 412th “Nemesis” Unmanned Systems Brigade. He could only be identified by name for security reasons.

Alex said the Ukrainians who were “brave enough” had already joined the army earlier in the war and are exhausted or wounded. Newly mobilized personnel, he said, may not be as willing to risk their lives.

Improve investment performance

kyiv’s push for foreign fighters comes as its military faces a crippling attrition problem, more than four years after the Russian invasion. Infantry and assault troops are among the hardest-hit forces on the battlefield, and Ukraine has struggled to keep front-line units staffed as the war drags on.

New contracts with the promise of higher payments could give Ukraine a way to attract more foreign fighters and retain them longer. Foreign troops said the test is whether higher salaries and clearer conditions are enough to persuade recruits to choose a longer contract rather than leaving after six months.

Despite pressure to recruit recruits, foreign fighters said maintaining the current force should be Ukraine’s priority.

O’Leary, the chosen commander, said many foreign fighters sign a six-month contract and then return home or transfer to another unit, leaving Ukraine with little to show for the investment.

He described the revolving door as “negative for Ukraine” and said the country should prioritize retention along with recruitment.

Deeper problems often push foreign fighters to abandon the war after six months, O’Leary said, including limited access to Ukraine’s digital military systems and fewer daily benefits. Fixing those problems, he said, could be more important for retention than a higher salary.

“They have already settled the issue of permanent residence and citizenship, so I think it is a step forward,” he said, adding that kyiv now needs to “work to level the playing field for foreigners, so that it looks like we are on the same page as the Ukrainians.”

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said it is not currently in a position to comment on these efforts. Overall, foreign fighters said Ukraine is moving in the right direction on talent retention.

Charlie, a U.S. military veteran and current candidate for the Ukrainian Army’s 3rd Corps, said the new contracts and payments are “positive steps” by kyiv to incentivize foreign fighters to stay longer. He asked to be identified by his call sign for security reasons.

“I think they’re doing a good thing in understanding that they have this foreign demographic from all over the world coming into the country and building up their military, and they’re actually doing things to incentivize people to come, incentivize people to stay, not just spend a minimum of six months and leave,” Charlie said.

He said longer contracts could be more attractive to foreign fighters who come to Ukraine seeking combat experience they won’t find on any other battlefield.

“If you look at the world today,” Charlie said, “the best place to have that experience is Ukraine as a foreigner.”