The Ministry of Veterans Affairs has stated that Ukraine will not copy the American model of veterans policy, but will instead build its own system tailored to the demands of the war and Ukrainian society.
"The main outcome of the meetings is that Ukraine will not copy the American model, but will build its own system tailored to the demands of the war and Ukrainian society. At the same time, utilizing years of international experience will allow us to cover this path much faster," the ministry reported following a working visit to Washington, D.C. (USA) by Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Vitaliy Kim.
It is noted that for Ukraine, which is developing its own veterans policy amid a full-scale war, U.S. experience is extremely valuable.
The ministry recounted that during the working visit, it was important for the Ukrainian delegation to study this system from the inside: what works effectively and where problems have accumulated over decades that should be avoided.
"One of the key events was a meeting between Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Vitaliy Kim and U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins. This is the first bilateral meeting between the heads of the two countries' veterans agencies in a long time... During the meeting, the discussion focused on the U.S. veterans medical system, which unites 170 centers and over 1,000 outpatient facilities. U.S. experience in prosthetics, treatment of polytrauma, and psychological rehabilitation is important for Ukrainian specialists. The parties agreed on further exchange of experience at the level of teams and specialized experts," the report states.
Also, together with leading American research centers RAND Corporation and CSIS, the Ukrainian delegation discussed the challenges and practical aspects of the functioning of the U.S. veteran system.
In particular, experts from RAND discussed the creation of an economic model for the reintegration of veterans, and the involvement of Ukrainian analytical centers in joint research projects was also addressed.
In addition, CSIS specialists shared their experience in the field of financial support for veterans policy and outlined issues that Ukraine can take into account when shaping its own institutional decisions.
