Volunteers to get combat veteran status due to law amendments

The Verkhovna Rada amended some legislative acts of Ukraine regarding granting combat veteran status to persons who are directly involved in the defense of Ukraine.

The Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law №7322 in the second reading and as a whole.

The law expands the list of participants in hostilities.

310 People’s Deputies voted for the relevant decision.

The law provides for the identification of participants in hostilities who have not joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Guard or other military formations or law enforcement agencies formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine.

At the same time, the law determines that these persons can be identified as participants of hostilities is they took a direct part in the defense of Ukraine during the armed aggression of Russia.

It is also envisaged to honor those who became persons with disabilities as a result of injury, contusion, mutilation or disease received during direct participation in the defense of the state. The law clarifies that it concerns disabilities received while self-defense during the period of martial law and while performing tasks related to the introduction and implementation of measures of the legal regime of martial law.

The decision to grant the combat veteran status will be made by the Interdepartmental Commission created under the Ministry of Veterans Affairs.

The conditions for granting such a status may be:

• a certificate issued by a commander of a military unit or another manager;
• abstract from the order of the Joint Operational Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the involvement of a person in the defense of Ukraine in connection with the armed aggression of the Russian Federation.

The Cabinet of Ministers will determine the procedure for granting the combat veteran status.

As of May 2022, according to the register of the Ministry of Social Policy, more than 770,000 people had received the combat veteran status.

After the war, the number of people with whom the Ministry will work will be much larger. Yuliia Laputina, Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, believes that this number can reach 4-5 million people.