"A veteran should not have to be a courier": Vitaliy Kim wants to eliminate certificates and running between agencies

Kim wants to compel agencies to exchange data independently

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02 Sep 2026

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Ukraine is preparing an update to veteran policy intended to spare defenders from having to go between agencies on their own, collect duplicate certificates, and repeatedly confirm information that already exists in state registers. The Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Vitalii Kim 2 September 2026 stated, that the state should move to a single veteran pathway – from discharge from military service to receiving the full package of necessary support.

The new approaches were discussed on 2 September 2026 at a meeting of the Coordination Council on the Protection of the Rights of War Veterans and Their Family Members, Families of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine, as well as Prisoners and the Missing. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov. Participating were the Prime Minister of Ukraine Serhii Koretskyi, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Iryna Vereshchuk, ministers, members of parliament and the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.

The basis for future changes were the tasks set by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on 22 August 2026 during the IX International Veterans Forum. The state must make support for veterans and their families simpler, clearer and more accessible, in particular through digitization and a reduction of bureaucracy.

The Ministry for Veterans Affairs identified 4 main directions on which they plan to focus the policy update: medical care, rehabilitation and prosthetics; reform of the system of veteran support specialists; development of veteran spaces; sanatorium-resort treatment and wellness for veterans, their families and families of fallen warriors.

However, according to Vitalii Kim, it is necessary to change not only individual programs but the very principle of interaction between the veteran and the state. Instead of dozens of separate procedures, a unified system of accompaniment for a person after discharge from military service should appear.

The Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Vitalii Kim, explaining how the new approach should work, emphasized:

“A veteran should not be a courier between institutions. If information already exists in state registers, there is no need to collect the same certificates again. The state must ensure data exchange and easy access to services,” – said Vitalii Kim.

The Ministry explained that a support specialist should not simply advise a veteran, but help them go through the necessary stages and, where possible, take on part of the procedures themselves. The state also plans to set up information exchange between registers in parallel so as not to require people to provide documents that are already available.

Another proposal is to appoint, in each ministry involved in veteran policy, an official responsible for coordinating this direction. This should allow faster resolution of issues that simultaneously concern healthcare, social protection, employment, housing, education or other areas. At present the Ministry for Veterans Affairs is forming a single implementation plan. It should define those responsible, deadlines for implementation, necessary legislative and organizational decisions, and sources of funding.

They also plan to review existing state programs separately: successful pilot projects should be transitioned to a permanent format, and ineffective ones changed or terminated, redirecting resources to where they deliver practical results.

The updated system should also provide for a continuous recovery pathway – from treatment and physical rehabilitation to psychological assistance, accessibility and professional reintegration.

A separate block concerns employment, professional retraining, veteran entrepreneurship and starting one’s own business. The Ministry for Veterans Affairs also plans to involve veterans in public service and expand cooperation with employers. During the meeting, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Serhii Koretskyi reported that about UAH 18.5 billion is planned to be allocated in the 2027 state budget for veteran support. According to him, there are now more than 1.5 million veterans in Ukraine.

For Mykolaiv, the issue of veteran support also remains relevant. The former head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Vitalii Kim took charge of the Ministry for Veterans Affairs on 16 July 2026. In Mykolaiv itself there is already a City Center for War Veterans Support, and a project for a new large veteran space designed to help up to 20,000 people is being prepared.