The Parliament of Ukraine unified the rules for paying UAH 15 million to the families of deceased and missing servicemen
On February 25, the Verkhovna Rada adopted in the second reading draft law No. 13646 on social protection of military personnel. The document was supported by 284 people’s deputies. The law introduces uniform standards of state support for the families of military personnel, rescuers and police officers who died or went missing while defending the Motherland.
According to the approved changes, during service, military personnel will have guaranteed financial and medical support, the right to leave for family reasons, treatment and rehabilitation by decision of the military medical commission. The state will also provide accommodation, free travel and postal services. After returning to service, servicemen will retain the right to occupy a position no lower than their previous one, and full insurance and work experience and the possibility of professional adaptation are also guaranteed.
The procedure for payments to families has been regulated. Previously, the families of the deceased received a fixed lump-sum benefit of 15 million hryvnias, while the families of the missing received financial support throughout the search period, and after the fact of death was established, the full amount of the benefit. Now a guaranteed standard of state support has been introduced – 15 million hryvnias for each family of a deceased defender.
“From now on, a transparent mechanism is being established – in the event of confirmation of the death of a defender who was considered missing, assistance will be paid taking into account the amounts of financial support already received by the defender’s family during the search for him. This approach guarantees that the total amount of state support for each family will be equal and fair” – the Ministry of Defense explained.
The norm applies to all families whose loved ones went missing while defending the Motherland. If the amount of payments received during the search reaches 15 million hryvnias, after the legal establishment of the fact of death, the family will be entitled to a pension for the loss of the breadwinner and relevant state benefits.
Recall that in February, after the next stage of the prisoner exchange, a public discussion arose regarding the serviceman Nazar Daletsky, who was recognized as dead in 2023 and whose family received appropriate assistance. After his return, there were assumptions about the need to return the funds, but the Ministry of Defense officially stated that there were no grounds for this, since the payments were made on legal grounds.
