Zelensky addressed the conditions for soldiers who joined the army before the introduction of the "18-24 contract."

President Vladimir Zelensky addressed this during a Q&A session with hromadske at the forum "Ukraine. Year - 2025".

"I asked to look into some issues that didn't work out in the 'contract 18-24', primarily concerning those guys aged 18-24 [years old], but [who] joined right at the beginning of the war, meaning they volunteered, and they are not covered by the contract," he noted.

According to the president, the military selected specific brigades for the special contract that have a defined platform for proper training and preparation. "They said: 'Let's give it a try.' We agreed that this would last for two months," he added.

After that, Zelensky is confident that issues concerning all military personnel aged 18 to 24 who joined the army will be resolved. Additionally, more brigades will be formed for contract signing.

"We will resolve this issue. I believe that they (the military leadership - ed.) have not yet addressed the issue of normal rotations. People are truly tired. I can thank them and say that both the military, the General Staff, and the Ministry of Defense need to do everything in the near future to support them," Zelensky emphasized.

This concerns increasing rotations, leave, and fairness regarding contracts for military personnel aged 18 to 24.

What preceded this?

On February 7, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky announced special one-year contracts for youth aged 18 to 24 who wish to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On February 11, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine presented the details of the contract for volunteers aged 18-24. Among the benefits for such contract soldiers are financial rewards and social guarantees, which, as noted by the ministry, are not provided by civilian professions.