Minister Yuliia Laputina and USAID Mission Director James Hope discussed strategic cooperation as to Ukrainian Veterans projects and programs

Minister for Veterans Affairs Yuliia Laputina had a working meeting with Mr. James Hope, USAID Mission Director in Ukraine, to discuss further cooperation in supporting Ukrainian veterans and implementing veteran-focused projects and programs, as well as the Ministry’s strategic interaction with the USAID Mission in attracting American assistance.

Other participants of the meeting included Deputy Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine on European Integration Oleksiy Illiashenko,  Deputy Minister for Veterans Affairs on Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization Volodymyr Levchuk, USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives Country Representative Shadrach Ludeman, U.S. Embassy First Secretary Trevor Boyd, and representatives of the Ministry’s relevant departments.

At the outset of the meeting, Minister Laputina welcomed Mr. Hope to the Ministry and thanked him for the unwavering support that the United States have shown for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, for the comprehensive U.S. assistance to our country and the projects that USAID has implemented in Ukraine to support its veterans and their reintegration.

“The United States have always been and remain our reliable partner and friend. It is at these challenging times for Ukraine that the U.S. government has provided its invaluable and comprehensive assistance, particularly in the shape of the programs that are designed to help the men and women defenders who have defended our nation in adapting themselves to civilian life. On behalf of the entire veteran community, and of the Ministry, we thank you for this assistance,” Yuliia Laputina said.

In the course of the discussion, she informed USAID Regional Mission Director about the ten strategic areas of the Ministry’s work that laid the foundation of the Government of Ukraine’s Priority Action Plan for 2021. In particular, these efforts include digitization of the entire range of veteran services that the Ministry has worked on and is ready to implement – the e-Veteran information service system, the Unified State Registry of War Veterans, and the G2VEI online platform that should support veteran-owned business initiatives.

Deputy Minister for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitization Volodymyr Levchuk provided a personal demonstration of the services, their features, and the benefits that the veterans stand to gain from these technologies. In addition, he presented a demo version of a system called MARTA that, going forward, will provide access to psychological assistance to former combatants, enabling them to self-assess their health condition using their smartphone or personal computer. 

“Sadly, over 30 years Ukraine failed to establish a unified and holistic system of psychological rehabilitation services to combatants, and today,  as they return from the frontlines, thousands of the men and women who have defended this country for one reason or another have no access to good quality professional assistance that is based on unified standards, or sometimes they do not even realize they are in need of that assistance. This is exactly why developing this type of a system and digitizing the relevant services – meaning barrier-free access to them - has been one of this Ministry’s priorities,” Minister Laputina emphasized.

She made a separate note of creating an innovative system of medical and psychological rehabilitation and support to veterans, injured participants of the events of the Revolution of Dignity, and families of the fallen. Based on an initiative put forth by the President of Ukraine, modern rehabilitation centers will soon be established in every oblast of the country.  In addition, a unique project is in the works that should create a high-capacity veteran support hub in the immediate vicinity of Kyiv. 

She further underscored that, starting January 1, 2022, a Ukrainian Veteran Foundation will be launched as a government institution that should, in a transparent fashion, attract additional financing and international assistance to implement projects that will help the men and women who have defended Ukraine return to productive civilian lives. Minister Laputina asked USAID Mission representatives for their assistance in establishing the Foundation by attracting relevant experts; she also requested that they consider the opportunities for setting up a Project Office, based on facilities of the Fund, to provide support to veteran-owned businesses. It should be noted that the U.S. Embassy is already represented on the Foundation’s Supervisory Board.     

Ms. Laputina expressed the Ministry’s interest in continued productive cooperation with the USAID Mission in Ukraine, particularly in supporting and implementing projects and programs that should safeguard the rights and interests of war veterans. 

For his own part, USAID Regional Mission Director James Hope thanked Minister Laputina for the meeting, and for the detailed outline of the Ministry’s operations and priorities.

He noted USAID’s readiness to explore potential opportunities to support the Ministry’s projects and initiatives in various areas as part of its programs in Ukraine, including the activities that are already known in this country, such as DG East, ERA, and HOVERLA. 

“We will definitely continue our support in the area of mental health and psychological rehabilitation, and digitization is another area that we are very much interested in. The projects that you have presented during this meeting are very exciting, and we are ready to see if we may be able to support them as well,” Mr. Hope said.

U.S. Embassy First Secretary Trevor Boyd emphasized that he enjoyed working with the VA Ministry, including as part of the Supervisory Board of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation together with the Ministry’s other key partners like the Embassy of the United Kingdom, and NATO, and co-chairing the sectoral working group on social protection of veterans.

“We are constantly in touch with the Ministry’s team, working together closely in the area of supporting veterans. For instance, at this time we are actively involved in sectoral subgroup meetings. Our cooperative efforts should bring very good results,” noted Mr. Boyd.

Ms. Laputina thanked the USAID Regional Mission headed by James Hope, and U.S. Embassy First Secretary Trevor Boyd for supporting the Ministry’s projects and initiatives, and for the opportunities to achieve more profound cooperation in supporting and implementing veteran-focused projects and programs in Ukraine.