Ministry of Economy and Environment launches beta testing of an Obriy service—remote termination of employment in temporarily occupied territories

The Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine has launched beta testing of a service for the remote termination of employment in temporarily occupied territories (TOT). This service is part of the Obriy digital labor market ecosystem and is intended for citizens who have lost contact with their employers due to the occupation or hostilities.

Thousands of Ukrainians remain formally employed at enterprises, institutions, or organizations located in the TOT. It is physically impossible to work there, but their formal employment status remains—and with it, a barrier to finding new official work, receiving unemployment benefits, or undergoing retraining. Previously, such an employment contract could be terminated by applying to the State Employment Service or the employer.

According to the State Employment Service, 11,714 citizens have submitted requests to terminate such employment relationships to employment centers since the start of the full-scale war.

Now this can be done with just a few clicks, remotely via the Diia app—without having to visit the employer or intermediaries. A person submits an application and signs it electronically via Diia.Signature and the system automatically verifies the employer against the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development’s list of temporarily occupied territories, records the termination date, notifies the employer, and updates the data in state registries. Termination takes effect automatically the day after the application is registered in the system; no additional confirmation is required.

"Several thousand people are still formally tied to an employer in areas that are physically inaccessible. Remote termination removes this barrier. Our goal is for 75% of citizens who need it to be able to clear their career path simply and quickly, online through the Obriy, by the end of 2026,” notes Oleksandr Tsybort, Deputy Minister of Economy and Environment for Digital Development, Digital Transformation, and Digitalization.

The beta testing will last two weeks. During this period, the service will be available to 658 citizens who previously registered to become the first users. After that, it will appear in the Diia menu and become available to everyone.

Adult citizens of Ukraine who are officially employed by a company, institution, or organization in the temporarily occupied territory, who have a TIN (taxpayer identification number), an ID card, or a biometric foreign passport registered in Diia, and who are not registered as unemployed were eligible to participate in the testing.

Background

Obriy is a digital ecosystem for Ukraine’s labor market that brings together data on job openings, skills, training opportunities, and government services in a single digital environment. Its goal is to help people find jobs and opportunities for professional development more quickly, and to help the Government make decisions based on labor market data.