The social and legal protection of veterans in Ukraine is regulated by a number of laws and bylaws. The needs of female and male veterans are often included in program strategic documents related to the development of relevant sphere in a long or medium term perspective.
According to Article 17 of the Constitution of Ukraine, “The State ensures the social protection of citizens of Ukraine who serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and in other military formations as well as of members of their families”. This obligation of the State to provide social protection to those who have risked their lives to defend and continue to defend Ukraine's sovereignty and independence has been repeatedly emphasized in the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
However, the current legislation always needs to be analysed in respect of its effective implementation and meet the needs of female and male veterans, whose number is growing as a result of russia’s full-scale invasion. According to the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, the number of citizens targeted by the department’s policy may change from 1.2 million to 5 million after the war. As regards, the public policy related to the veterans' affairs sector should be flexible and adaptive to ensure that veterans have opportunities for the full recovery and transition to civilian life.
This briefing note provides a general overview of Ukrainian legislation on veterans’ social and legal protection, including the visibility of women and men veterans rights in public strategies and plans, as well as in current legislation of Ukraine.
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