Ukraine’s Minister for Veterans Affairs Vitaliy Kim outlined the ministry’s priorities under his leadership: establishing a State Support Service, digitizing services, and ensuring the economic independence of veterans.
"We have identified five priorities on which we are focusing our efforts: state support, honor and remembrance, transition from military service to civilian life, health and rehabilitation, and economic independence and opportunities," Kim said at the Ninth International Veterans Forum on Saturday in Kyiv.
He noted that there are plans to create a system of government support for veterans.
"Right now, there are individual programs in place. Some have even proven to be quite effective. There are excellent patrol services, there are NGOs, and there are veteran volunteers who are trying to help the government care for the veterans themselves. I don’t think that’s right. Or rather, it’s great. But it’s just one component. The government is obligated to provide this," he said.
The minister added that some brigades have ineffective support services.
"They’re fighting; they don’t have time to deal with anything else. The state has to do this. Today, the military already has a strong track record of supporting people. We’ll take all of this and create a single office that will handle all these functions," he added.
He said that one of the priorities is the digitization and standardization of the transition from military service to civilian life.
"Today, our concept is that a veteran must go through three steps: the Medical Examination Commission, surrendering their weapons, and registration at the Territorial Center for Social Reintegration. The state must handle the rest," the minister said.
In addition, he said the various aspects of the transition from military service to civilian life – medical treatment, physical rehabilitation, mental health, and sports – must work together as part of a single system, rather than in isolation.
"What happens to a person afterward is crucial. Do they have opportunities for self-fulfillment, employment, and economic independence? And this leads to the next priority. Even the best support system should not make a person dependent on the state. "I do not want to build a system in which a veteran is dependent on state support. Our goal is not to tie the veteran down, but to give them opportunities, to give them choices, so that they can move forward on their own," Kim said.
He said the government must work separately with the business community to create jobs for veterans.
As previously reported, on July 16, the Verkhovna Rada, upon the proposal of newly appointed Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky, approved the new composition of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, specifically appointing Vitaliy Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, as Minister for Veterans’ Affairs.
