Specialists of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs adopt the experience of Croatian experts in creating a system of transition from a military career to civilian life
On Tuesday, September 13, the cooperation of specialists of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine with international experts of the TAIEX Expert Mission began.
Workshops will be held during four days, during which representatives of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs will learn from the experience of Croatian colleagues in creating a system of transition from military career to civilian life for servicemen who are released from service, including war veterans. In addition, Ukrainian specialists will study the Croatian principles of implementing legislative and regulatory acts, psychological and medical assistance, professional adaptation of the military.
Opening the event, the Director General of the Directorate of Civil Identity and Veteran Development of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, Maksym Kushnir, said that since the beginning of the full-scale offensive, the security and defense sector has increased almost three times. After completing the service, all Defenders will need integration into society. That is why the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, together with other ministries and departments, started active work on creating a system of transition from a military career to civilian life.
"Today, when Ukraine is at war, the support of our European partners is very important for us," Maksym Kushnir stressed. - Currently, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs is developing a transition system from a military career to civilian life, the main purpose of which is to provide Ukrainian Defenders with modern tools for integration into the economy and community. Building a transition system is an institutional reform that we see as complex and systemic. By implementing it, we become not only one step closer to NATO member countries, but also strengthen our national stability and security."
Representatives of the Ministry of Veterans told their Croatian colleagues that during the International Forum "Defenders. Call", which took place on August 23, 2022, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that veteran policy is a priority and an independent direction of state policy.
The experts of the TAIEX Expert Mission emphasized that they are ready to share their experience and developments regarding social, psychological and medical support of veterans. Secretary General of the Ministry
of Croatian Veterans’ Affairs Ivica Akmadža told his Ukrainian colleagues about the status and social guarantees of Croatian veterans, family members of the dead and missing. He noted that in Croatia all these categories receive pension and health insurance. Head of the Sector for Normative and General Affairs Ministry of Croatian Veterans’ Affairs Petra Šćukanec spoke about the rights of Croatian soldiers who became disabled as a result of the war, as well as about social support for the families of the dead.
In the following days, Ukrainian and Croatian specialists will discuss the experience of strengthening the system of psychosocial assistance to combatants, issues of medical support and rehabilitation, and social security.
Speakers on behalf of the Expert Mission will be the Director of the Directorate for Counseling, Psychosocial and Health Care Ministry of Croatian Veterans’ Affairs Dinko Tandara, Head of the Sector for Improving the Quality of Life of Croatian Veterans and Care for Civilian Victims of the Homeland War Ministry of Croatian Veterans’ Affairs, Zlatkica Danilović Marinović, Head of Service for Care of the Homeland War Victims Ministry of Croatian Veterans’ Affairs, Danijela Majko and the Director of the Directorate for Legal and Housing Affairs Ministry of Croatian Veterans’ Affairs, Željko Motik.
We will remind you that the Interdepartmental Working Group on the development and implementation of the transition system from military career to civilian life started its work in July this year.It includes representatives of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Social Policy, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development and other agencies. The final result of the work should be the creation of a transition system from a military career to civilian life. This is an institutional reform, the implementation of which will bring Ukraine closer to the standards of NATO member states, strengthen national stability and security through the strategic human resource of the state.
