The integration of veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war into peaceful life is a pressing challenge for Ukraine, the state and civil society in general.
At the first panel, the Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Yulia Laputina said: “Veteran policy is among the 10 priorities of the government, at every meeting we talk about the system of the veteran policy. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, also emphasizes this. Veteran policy should be veteran-centric. Currently, the Ministry has launched a pilot project on the creation of a veteran’s assistant institute, in the USA it is called a “professional veteran’s advisor”.
According to surveys of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, one of the most urgent problems faced by veterans is the lack of work – 77.5% of respondents indicated this problem as one of the most likely.
“A veteran needs to reinvent himself, find his place in society, understand his strengths and weaknesses. Working, doing his own business, a person receives not only money, but also satisfaction from action, results, has a horizon for growth. No one wants to ask, demand, run around the authorities, and even more so, people to whom we literally owe our lives should not do this. It is humiliating and shameful. Both for them and for us,” noted Nataliya Kalmykova, CEO of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs.
James E. Baker, a former former officer of the US Marine Corps, a former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the Director of the Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law, provided his knowledge and experience at the event. Baker defends the rights of veterans and provides international legal support for veterans.
James E. Baker says: “We need to build a system for veterans, which would be built not on “pensions”, but on the system of people who help their country grow by acquiring new opportunities. The issue of veterans is a security sector issue. The American experience suggests that after the Second World War there are a lot of different veterans. These are the people who want to live differently and in another country. In the USA, it was the veterans of the Second World War who transformed the economy after the war.”
In general, Ukraine can take the successful experience of the United States — the return of war veterans — as a basis for developing its own programs to support this community in order to ensure their decent integration into civilian life.
Taras Chmut, director of the ‘’Come Back Alive’’ Charity Foundation, member of the Supervisory Board of the UVF, emphasizes:
“In 2015, we already had this problem: as soon as active hostilities stop, we forget about the army and the military. That’s why we have to squeeze in the maximum at this time – and this is a window of opportunity for veterans, because then, in the time we call “victory”, it is unlikely that everyone and everything will be able to get their hands on it. As a priority, the state should take care of, first of all, the medical block, that is, rehabilitation for veterans. This applies to those affected by the war and it is the least we can do. Secondly, the families of the fallen. The state, civil society, and all of us should take up the solution of all these issues. After all, we should all remember why security and Defense forces are important.”
Nothing about veterans without veterans themselves. The veteran community, founders of public organizations, business representatives and the leadership of the Ministry of Veteran Affairs and the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation joined the discussions and dialogue during the forum. The speakers reached a common denominator — education and retraining are becoming important tools to help veterans adapt to a new environment. Education allows veterans to expand their knowledge and skills, and retraining allows them to use their military experience in a new context.
The main emphasis of the forum is on implemented projects, without dry numbers and ephemeral plans, but with real veteran results. As an example, veterans and their families joined the forum and told their stories: veteran’s wife Oksana Makarova, veterans Denys Dudnyk, Volodymyr Skosogorenko and Taras Yakobchuk. Each of them went from protecting the country to mastering a new business. The Ukrainian Veterans Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affaris provided project support for the ideas of the veteran community.
“They and other participants in the projects implemented by the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation once again proved that: “We, as a society, have received a unique opportunity to build a new, super-strong state and we are just beginning the journey. So now we have to invest in veterans. It is to invest, to give opportunities, so that they do not have to choose their own civilian life as well”, – Nataliia Kalmykova, executive director of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine.
Support of veteran business and respect for everyone who gives the best years of their life for the protection of Ukraine is a key activity of the Ukrainian Veteran Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. And just today, the Foundation`s team presented a new competition program to support veteran businesses: https://veteranfund.com.ua/contests/
The event was also attended by:
🔹 Yulia Laputina — Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine
🔹 Natalia Kalmykova — CEO of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs
🔹 Taras Chmut – director of the ’Come Back Alive’’ Charity Foundation, member of the Supervisory Board of the UVF
🔹 James E. Baker is a former infantry officer of the US Marine Corps, former chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, director of the Institute for Security Policy and Law at Syracuse University, professor at Syracuse College of Law and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
🔹 Ruslana Velychko-Trifonyuk – First deputy of the Executive director of the UVF
🔹 Olga Svatova is the head of the brand marketing department at American University Kyiv
🔹 Roksolyana Voronovska – head of UCU-online
🔹 Ilya Shpolyanskyi is a veteran, the Movement of Veterans of Ukraine
🔹 Tetyana Zhukova – VMGO “Social Vector” (Education for women: female veterans, wives of veterans)
🔹 Svyatoslav Nikolaychuk – NGO “Podilskyi Development Agency”
🔹Dmytro Dubrovskyi – co-founder of Uklon, ambassador of the UVF
🔹 Oleksandra Adaynik is the manager of the Social Policy Department of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia.
🔹Andrii Remizov – director of the State University “Office for the Development of Entrepreneurship and Export”, Diia.Business
🔹 Maksym Pylypenko is the communications director of Work.ua
🔹 Victoria Shinkarenko – veteran, NGO “Regional Veteran Union of ATO Participants of Rivne Oblast”
🔹 Tatyana Rozumiy is the wife of a veteran, the owner of a shoe store
The event was moderated by: Vladyslav Grezev, CEO Lobby X, coordinator of TEDxKyiv, Marichka Padalko, news anchor, and Oleksiy Tarasov, editor-in-chief of Radio NV.
