More than 10,000 unemployed involved in “Army of Recovery”: Tetyana Berezhna

More than 10,000 unemployed people in 14 regions have been involved in community service to rebuild the country as part of the Army of Recovery project. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Tetyana Berezhna on the air of “Breakfast with 1+1”.

“More than 10,000 unemployed people have already joined the Army of Recovery and are performing community reconstruction works. The leader among the regions is Poltava region, with almost 3,000 people involved in such works. Each region can set a different list of required works, ranging from weaving camouflage nets, clearing rubble and restoring buildings damaged by the fighting to unloading humanitarian aid. Anyone can take part in the project, but it is primarily aimed at registered unemployed people, who are given the opportunity not only to be registered and receive unemployment benefits from the state, but also to join the reconstruction of the country,” said Tetyana Berezhna.

The Deputy Minister also emphasised that the payment received by people for performing community service – UAH 6,700 as of today – was higher than unemployment benefits. Among the top regions of the project are:

• Poltava region – 2,900 people involved;
• Donetsk region – 1,500 people;
• Kyiv region – 1,400 people;
• Sumy region – 1,300 people.

The state has already paid almost UAH 63 million to the unemployed for performing community service under the Army of Recovery project, including UAH 39 million since the beginning of 2023.

The most common types of work are as follows:

• construction of civil defence structures, strengthening of dams;
• unloading and packing humanitarian aid;
• providing social services at the Points of Invincibility;
• dismantling rubble and restoring residential buildings and premises;
• arranging and reinforcing checkpoints and basements for shelter;
• weaving camouflage nets.

The Army of Recovery project was launched by the Government in autumn 2022 to engage people who temporarily lost their jobs in rebuilding the country through community service.