Kyiv hosts Veterans and Volunteer “Defenders. Roll Call” Forum

On Monday, August 22, Kyiv has hosted the “Defenders. Roll Call” forum within the framework of the 5th International Veterans and Volunteer Forum “Ukraine Is Where We Are”, which is traditionally organized annually by the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs of Ukraine together with the “Return Alive” Charitable Foundation.

The forum was opened by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He noted that before the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine, there were about 500,000 combatants.

“Now about a million people are defending Ukraine in the Armed Forces and in other formations that oppose the occupiers. Who are they, this million? What is it like to fight against russian terrorists for our victory? This means that everyone in Ukraine will have veteran relatives, or veteran friends, or veteran colleagues, or veteran acquaintances. This means that the veteran community will become one of the largest in the country. And this means that appropriate changes are needed that reflect this new reality, both in the state policy regarding veterans, and in the public perception of veterans, and in all our economic players,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

The President stressed the importance of unconditional respect for veterans at all levels of public life in Ukraine. And this respect should be embodied not in words, but in quite practical things.

The participants of the forum honored the memory of the Fallen Defenders with a minute of silence.

Also during the forum, Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the Order of the Golden Star to the senior technician-instructor of the helicopter squadron, Captain Andriy Shohan, the award of the President of Ukraine “Cross of Combat Merit” to major of the National Guard of Ukraine Denys Nokhrin, and commander of the anti-aircraft missile battery, major Yevheniy Hryhorenko. The President also presented the “Golden Star” orders with the title of Hero of Ukraine to the members of the families of the Fallen Defenders of Ukraine who were awarded this title posthumously.

Thus, the title of Hero of Ukraine was posthumously awarded to colonel Serhiy Kotenko and deputy commander of the separate special purpose unit “Azov” to senior lieutenant Vitaliy Hrytsaenko.

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyy also addressed the guests of the forum with a welcome speech.

Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Yuliia Laputina, speaking in front of the guests of the forum, noted that the state has already developed many initiatives that will help the Defenders to integrate into a peaceful life after the victory.

“Those who are bringing our victory closer are now at the front, in volunteer centers, treating and rehabilitating the wounded, rescuing the civilian population. All of them are Women and Men Defenders, each has its own front. The state must do everything to integrate everyone into a peaceful life when we win. So that the Women and Men Defenders return to their homes, develop communities, families, and entrepreneurship. Many initiatives have already been developed for this purpose,” Yuliia Laputina said.

The minister emphasized that for this it is necessary to provide veterans with proper and effective tools for recovery.

“Now the majority of Women and Men Defenders are at the front. When we win, the state must provide them with the widest range of tools to become Warriors of Recovery. And if necessary, in the event of an escalation of the enemy's aggression, they will once again defend the country,” Yuliia Laputina highlighted.

The Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine added: “I believe in all of you, I believe in us. The spirit of a warrior is a symbol of Ukrainians, we are not afraid and thanks to this we will win!”

Also, during her speech, Yuliia Laputina called to applaud the brave psychologists of the Borodyanka Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of the Population of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, who were present in the hall. It should be recalled that during the partial occupation of the Kyiv region, the Center was completely destroyed as a result of a direct hit by a shell of a Russian tank, but the staff continued to provide assistance to the population both during the russian occupation and after the liberation of the town.

It should be noted that the President of Ukraine emphasized that he is going to make a personal contribution to the development of the veterans' rehabilitation system. He announced that he would give a prize of USD 100,000 for the Medal of Freedom awarded to him by the US National Constitutional Center for the reconstruction and renovation of the rehabilitation center in Borodyanka.

After the ceremonial opening and the speeches of the honored guests, the panel part of the forum began. In particular, during four discussions, the participants of the event discussed the issue of changing the image of Women and Men Defenders, their status in society, the creation of a transition system from a military career to civilian life, and the phenomenon of volunteering in Ukraine.

During the forum’s panels, the participants were addressed online by Minister for Veterans’ Affairs of Great Britain Johnny Mercer and Minister of Croatian Veterans’ Affairs Spiro Janović. Foreign policy advisors of the heads of states and governments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic became guests of the event.