The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Oleksandr Pukhalskyi, Deputy Director of the Department of Social Support of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, explained what the support services under the Ministry of Defense are, how effective they are, and how they can be improved.
He spoke about this on air on Army FM.
The basis for their creation was the urgent need to improve the system of social support for servicemen. These structural units were established on the basis of civil-military cooperation structures and currently operate within the civil-military cooperation system.
“The main task of the support services is to accompany servicemen and their family members, first and foremost those who have been wounded, are considered missing in action, or are in captivity, as well as to work with the families of these servicemen”, — Oleksandr Pukhalskyi said.
The Ministry of Defense presented key ways to improve the operation of support services in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to Pukhalskyi, the main directions — at least for 2026 — include redistributing the workload among social support specialists between military units, medical institutions, and territorial recruitment centers.
The primary goal is to reduce the burden on frontline combat units and increase the effectiveness of social support for the wounded and assistance to families of prisoners of war and those missing in action.
Regarding the effectiveness of the support services, the deputy director noted that a fair assessment will be given by the servicemen who work with them directly and who have been wounded.
However, in his opinion, the services are quite effective, as everyone clearly understands that people in medical facilities and families of servicemen who are missing or in captivity need support.
