According to a Reuters article, Russia’s defense ministry is proposing a measure to reclaim a portion of the one-off payment provided to contract soldiers who are found guilty of criminal offenses while at home. The article states that this move is driven by an observed increase in domestic violence cases among soldiers fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine, which Moscow refers to as a “special military operation” [1].

The article explains that Russia offers contract soldiers a minimum one-off payment of 400,000 rubles (approximately $4,640) for signing a one-year contract to participate in the conflict. In practice, these payments can reach several million rubles per soldier, in addition to a monthly salary. The proposed legislation, published on a Monday, indicates that if active contract service members are convicted of a criminal offense that does not result in a prison sentence, they would be required to repay a portion of the one-off payment based on the remaining months of their service [1].

[1] Reuters. (2026, September 8). Russia to strip contract soldiers of one-off payment if laws violated at home. Yahoo News. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/russia-strip-contract-soldiers-one-022531092.html

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