Yulia Laputina presented projects of Ministry for Veterans Affairs under Government’s plan for post-war recovery and development of Ukraine

On January 30, Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Yulia Laputina chaired a meeting of the Veterans’ Rights Protection Sectoral Working Group. The Head of the Ministry presented projects of the Ministry for Veterans Affairs under the Government’s plan for post-war recovery and development of Ukraine (Ukraine Recovery Plan).

The meeting was attended by Deputy State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Anatolii Kutsevol, co-chairs of the Sectoral Working Group – Deputy Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine on European Integration Ihor Yaremenko and representative of the British Embassy in Ukraine Dominic-Haydn Braithwaite, representatives of international organizations – IOM, NATO, UNDP, IREX, UN Women, East Europe Foundation, representatives of diplomatic missions of partner countries.

Presenting the Ministry’s projects, Yulia Laputina emphasized that the state veteran policy was one of the key areas of Government’s work for 2023. Currently, the Ministry for Veterans Affairs, in cooperation with other ministries and agencies, is creating conditions for Ukrainian Defenders returning from war and service members completing their service to have all the necessary tools for successful integration into society, community, and family.

“After our victory, the number of veterans will increase many times over, and, unfortunately, the number of family members of fallen Defenders will also increase significantly. We must provide these people with all the effective tools for successful integration into the economy and communities. Also, today’s Defenders should have opportunities to become Warriors of Recovery after Ukraine’s military victory,” said Yulia Laputina.

Thus, the first project of the Ministry for Veterans Affairs is the introduction of 25 Service Offices for veterans and their families. The project has been developed in partnership with UNDP to launch a Single Window in the Centers for Administrative Services to provide Defenders and their families with fast and high-quality administrative services. A pilot project is planned to be implemented this year in Dnipro.

The second project is the construction of the Borodyanka Center for Psychological Rehabilitation on the site of the Ministry for Veterans Affairs facility destroyed by a direct tank hit. It will be built according to a modern model of mental health care and psychosocial support for Ukraine’s Defenders and their families. The Center’s new mission will also be to study the phenomenon of genocide of the Ukrainian people by the russian occupation forces.

The third project is the development of a network of Veteran Development Centers based at higher education institutions in all regions of Ukraine. Their activities will help launch an effective system of support for war veterans and their families in employment, education, retraining, advanced training, skills certification, building an individual professional trajectory, etc. The first three such centers will be implemented in the cities of Lviv, Dnipro, and Vinnytsia.

The fourth project is the implementation of the All-Ukrainian Veterans’ Needs Survey in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Its purpose is to research and use the results of the study to determine the needs of veterans and the capacity of regions to accept a large number of demobilized veterans, to forecast economic development, and develop policy proposals.

The fifth project is Housing Support. It envisages programs to provide housing for veterans on preferential mortgage lending terms. As of January 1, 2023, 25,000 combatants were registered for housing. The Ministry for Veterans Affairs is currently negotiating the project with KfW, a German state bank with experience in implementing housing programs in Ukraine.

“Together with you, we want to do as much as possible before our victory. Indeed, veterans will need help from the civilian sector, the state, and international partners. We must be effective and practical. I thank all our partners for their fruitful cooperation,” Yulia Laputina addressed the members of the Sectoral Working Group.

In turn, representatives of international partners and diplomatic missions supported the projects and programs developed by the Ministry for Veterans Affairs.

“We welcome the active work of the Ministry for Veterans Affairs. We support the work of the Ministry in creating and implementing a system of transition from military career to civilian life, and we will continue to focus on this work, as well as further development of institutional capacities, in particular, human-centeredness. The work of this group is important as a mechanism of transparency, cooperation and synergy between the Ministry for Veterans Affairs, international partners, and civil society. We will be happy to join, study the materials, and make contributions from our side,” said Alexandra Ohorodnikova, Head of the NATO-Ukraine Military Career Transition Program.

“We are actively working with the Ministry for Veterans Affairs in the area of digitalization of veteran services, and one of the projects we have already implemented will soon be made public. We have many more ideas in process in this area. In addition, we have a large project for 2023 to rehabilitate veterans and civilians who have been injured as a result of the war. We will discuss cooperation in the format of this working group,” said Olena Ursu, UNDP Democratic Governance Portfolio Manager.

“We will work fruitfully together with all our partners to attract international assistance for the successful implementation of the tasks and projects of the Ministry for Veterans Affairs in accordance with the Ukraine Recovery Plan,” said Dominic-Haydn Braithwaite, Co-Chair of the Veterans’ Rights Protection Sectoral Working Group, representative of the British Embassy in Ukraine.

For reference

In accordance with Presidential Decree No. 266/2022 of April 21, 2022 “Issues of the National Council for the Recovery of Ukraine from the Consequences of the War”, work is underway on drafting sections of the Ukraine Recovery Plan.

The plan will include a list of measures for the post-war recovery and development of Ukraine, proposals for priority reforms and strategic initiatives, a list of regulations to be adopted and implemented for the effective work and recovery of Ukraine in the war and post-war periods.

The draft sections of the action plan for the post-war recovery and development of Ukraine are available here: https://www.kmu.gov.ua/en/national-council-recovery-ukraine-war/working-groups

The Veterans’ Rights Protection Sectoral Working Group was established in coordination with the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The working group is chaired by the Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine.