UKRAINE-SERVICEMEN-WAGE

Sevastopol, June 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Payments to servicemen will be significantly increased soon, Vice Premier and Social Policy Minister Sergiy Tigipko has said.

“The situation in the army is changing. Military reform, which has been discussed at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, will be implemented. A really noticeable increase in wages is expected due to the transfer to professional army,” Tigipko told reporters in Sevastopol.

According to the minister, pensions of former servicemen will grow by 36% in the next six months.

“We’ve managed to increase pensions rather quickly. The president ordered us to do this in March. And we’ve paid increased pensions in May. Starting from July 1, all military pensioners will start receiving higher pensions,” Tigipko said.

Some 19,000 military pensioners live in Sevastopol today.

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19:55:28 EET-2