An off-site meeting of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans’ Rights was held within the walls of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv on the topic “Providing housing for Defenders among internally displaced persons,” chaired by the Member of Parliament of Ukraine Anatolii Ostapenko.

Among the participants of the round table were the head of the Kyiv regional organization of the All-Ukrainian Trade Union of Defenders of Ukraine, Rakhim Babaiev, and the head of the Lviv regional organization of the Trade Union, Serhii Leichenkov.

During the discussion, a number of systemic issues were raised, including the imperfections of the legislation, due to which many Defenders among internally displaced persons cannot confirm the destruction of their housing in the temporarily occupied territories and, accordingly, cannot use the state compensation program.

Representatives of the Trade Union emphasized the need to create an independent commission made up of representatives of veteran and public organizations, which would monitor the procedure for granting compensation in order to prevent the emergence of “lists of one-day veterans who are their own.”
The participants also drew attention to the need to support service members who have been fighting continuously since the beginning of the ATO/JFO, and whose families are still forced to live in rented housing.

The position of the All-Ukrainian Trade Union of Defenders of Ukraine remains unchanged: decent living conditions for every veteran are the responsibility of the state and a matter of honor for the entire society.