A landmark event dedicated to supporting veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war took place in Kyiv today - Forum "Honour and Respect. Legacy of Courage 2024". The forum brought together representatives of the state authorities, public figures and all those who care about the fate of the military who have returned to civilian life, as well as families who lost their loved ones in the fight for freedom and independence of Ukraine.

The forum presented several initiatives designed to change the approach to working with veterans. In particular, Rostislav Karandeev, acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, spoke about a new programme aimed at rehabilitating the military. He noted: "The Ministry has developed a plan of measures to rehabilitate the military, their families and the families of those killed through culture. We have launched a programme to train employees of cultural institutions in special methods for working with veteran audiences." This approach will help the defenders return to civilian life not only physically but also mentally.

One of the key aspects of the discussion was the formation of a new veterans' policy, which should become a priority for the state. MP Andriy Lopushansky emphasised the importance of this topic, highlighting the problems of access to rehabilitation for veterans. He noted that insufficient attention to this issue could become a serious obstacle to the adaptation of soldiers to the new reality.

“Our trade union has 61,000 members, people who were ordinary employees and who, after the full-scale invasion, stood up to defend our country. Sooner or later, the post-war period will come for us, whatever it was, which is why we have joined forces, become a social partner of the state and help everyone who needs it“,- Serhiy Bizov, Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Trade Union of Defenders of Ukraine, Athletes and Workers of the Spheres.

The forum became not only a place to discuss problems, but also a platform for finding mechanisms to solve them. The participants of the event confirmed their readiness to continue working to ensure that the life of every veteran who has returned home is worthy and fulfilling, and that respect for our defenders is an integral part of public life.

The event was organised by the People's Deputy of Ukraine, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Protection of Veterans' Rights Anatoliy Ostapenko.

Event partners:
▫️The All-Ukrainian Union of Defenders of Ukraine, sportsmen and sphere workers
▫️Association of Entrepreneurs and ATO Veterans;
▫️Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine;

Guests of the event:
▫️Iryna Vereshchuk - Vice Prime Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories;
▫️Ruslan Prykhodko - Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine;
▫️Rostislav Karandeev Acting Minister of Culture and Information and Information
Policy of Ukraine;
▫️Yulia Zhovtyak - Director of the State Employment Centre;
▫️Serhiy Poznyak - combatant, Head of the Association
of of Entrepreneurs of ATO Veterans;
▫️Andrii Lopushanskyi - Member of Parliament of Ukraine.