The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
In 2025, the Main Directorate for the Protection of Servicemembers’ Rights processed more than 7,600 appeals and requests from Ukrainian defenders and their families.
This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Compared to 2024, when 2,340 appeals were received, the number of requests increased more than threefold. This dynamic indicates growing trust in the institution and an increased capacity of the agency to effectively respond to the problems of the military community.
The main criterion for assessing the Directorate’s effectiveness was not the number of processed documents, but the actual resolution of issues. Over the year, specialists managed to restore the rights of 2,734 servicemembers and members of their families. This is almost three times more than in the previous year.
Analysis of the received appeals shows that more than 40% of all requests concerned five problematic issues, namely:
- actions of officials of Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers (12%);
- issues related to payment of monetary allowances and additional bonuses (11%);
- payments to families of servicemembers who are in captivity or missing in action (7%);
- search for missing persons (6%);
- transfer of servicemembers to another place of service (5%).
As a result of reviewing the appeals, 166 recommendations were issued to conduct internal inspections (investigations), and materials on 46 cases containing signs of criminal offenses were forwarded to law enforcement agencies.
To protect the rights of servicemembers and verify complaints, specialists conducted 44 on-site inspections in military units, Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers, and medical institutions.
The main causes of violations remain the human factor, gaps in legislation, and insufficient awareness. To address these issues systematically, officers developed amendments to nine regulatory legal acts over the course of the year.
An important outcome of the year was also the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the Law of Ukraine “On the Military Ombudsman”, developed jointly with the Office of the President of Ukraine, which creates additional mechanisms for protecting the rights of defenders.
