In Ukraine, from August 2023, there is a simplified procedure for obtaining the status of a participant in hostilities. Who can get a combatant during the war, how volunteers can get it, those who retired from service, what documents are needed – read on TSN.ua.

Who is eligible for combatant status

How to get combatants during the war

In August 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers, by its Resolution No. 887, simplified the procedure for obtaining the status of combatant and introduced a form of certificate of direct participation in the defense of Ukraine.

To become a combatant:

It is necessary to submit to the interdepartmental commission created by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs only a certificate of direct participation in the defense of Ukraine.

The certificate must contain the title, surname, first name, patronymic, position, date of birth, details of the identity document, registration number of the taxpayer's registration card. The address of the declared/registered place of residence (stay), contact phone number and e-mail address may also be indicated.

A serviceman or a person authorized by him may also attach other documents that prove and confirm the fact of performing combat missions.

There are several methods of how you can collect and send documents. For example, this can be done by the commander of a military unit within a month after the soldier has completed the task. The second method is to submit a report to the commander of the military unit with a request to provide the necessary documents. After that, the military must send these documents to the relevant commission.

It should be noted that it is currently impossible to obtain combatant status through Diia.

Certificate of combatant / Photo: Ukrainian Veterans Foundation

To obtain the status of a combatant after being wounded:

It is necessary to submit to the interdepartmental commission a certificate on the circumstances of the injury (wound, contusion, mutilation), which must be issued to the serviceman upon the fact of his injury.

How to get a combatant after dismissal

A person discharged from military service must apply to the TCC and SP at the place of registration with the following documents:

After that, the TCC makes a request to the military unit to send documents to the military registration and enlistment office, including: a certificate of direct participation in defense measures, at least one of the following documents: an extract (copy) of combat reports, an extract (copy) of combat logs (operational tasks, maintenance of the operational situation), an extract (copy) of watch logs, flight sheets, an extract (copy) of materials of special (official) investigations into the facts of injuries, contusions, mutilations, captivity.

After completing the set of documents, the TCC sends them for processing to the Commission for the consideration of materials on recognition as participants in hostilities. This commission must consider and make a decision on the status of combatants within 30 days.

How to get a combatant as a volunteer

The status of combatant can be obtained by volunteers who defended Ukraine in the period from February 24 to March 25, 2022 and took part in hostilities both independently and as part of a volunteer formation in cooperation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, etc.

To be granted the status of combatant, a volunteer must submit to the interdepartmental commission a certificate issued by the commander of the military unit, in cooperation with which the soldier himself or as part of a volunteer formation defended the state (certificate in accordance with Annex 6 to the Government Resolution of 20.08.2014 No. 413).

If there is no such certificate, then it is necessary to submit notarized evidence of the period of direct participation in the war. They must be given by three or more witnesses among the servicemen who have already received combatants. One of the witnesses must be the commander of the volunteer's unit.

Volunteers who do not have a certificate and who have been wounded, concussed, mutilated, due to which they can no longer serve, must submit:

The commission must make a decision on granting or refusing the UDB status within a month.

How to get a combatant who volunteered after March 25, 2022

There is no provision in the law for obtaining the status of combatant by those who voluntarily took part or are participating in hostilities after March 25, 2022. Therefore, obtaining such a status, a volunteer must be officially registered in the military unit as a serviceman.

Volunteers / Photo: Associated Press

Who is eligible for the status of a war veteran

The Law of Ukraine "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection" stipulates that war veterans are persons who participated in the defense of the Motherland or in hostilities on the territory of other states, which include: combatants, persons with disabilities as a result of war and war participants. Confirmation of the status of a war veteran is a certificate with an appropriate inscription, on the basis of which the appropriate benefits and compensations are provided.

Participants of the war are military personnel who during the Second World War served in the Armed Forces of the former USSR, home front workers, employees who were involved in ensuring the conduct of the ATO, the implementation of measures to ensure national security and defense, repulsion and deterrence of armed aggression of the Russian Federation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as other persons defined by the Law of Ukraine "On the Status of War Veterans", guarantees of their social protection".

It should be noted that currently the status of a war veteran cannot be obtained by members of the Volunteer Formations of the Territorial Community, because there is no procedure for obtaining this status for them. Although the VFTG is defined in the law by combatants.

Certificate of a participant in the war / Photo: Ukrainian Veterans Foundation

How to get the status of a war veteran

To obtain the status of a participant (veteran) of war, you must apply for the service either in person or through a legal representative. The application and the following documents must be submitted to the structural subdivisions for social protection of the population of district, district in Kyiv and Sevastopol state administrations, executive bodies of city, district in cities (in case of their creation) councils.

A participant in war and a participant in hostilities – the difference

A combatant and a war veteran are different concepts and have different ways of designing. Those who have the status of a participant in war and the status of a participant in hostilities receive various payments.

A participant in hostilities is a person who participated in the performance of combat missions to protect the Motherland as part of military units, formations, associations of all types and branches of the Armed Forces of the active army (navy), in partisan detachments and the underground and other formations both in wartime and in peacetime.

Who belongs to the combatants: the most relevant categories

Who are the participants in the war:

Participants in the war are military personnel who served in the Armed Forces of the former USSR during the war, home front workers, as well as other persons provided for by the Law "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection (Article 8)".

The list of all persons who belong to war veterans is enshrined in Article 9 of the Law "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection (Article 8)". This list is very extensive. Here are the most common boats:

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