Kyiv, 13 October 2023 – The Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Japan, held the #DigitForDefenders veterans' forum in Kyiv. The event was devoted to the topic of developing digital tools and services for veterans and their family members as they transition from a military career to civilian life.

The forum was attended by Ukrainian veterans, representatives of the IT community, Presidential Advisor and Commissioner for a Barrier-Free Environment Tetiana Lomakina, leaders and representatives of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, people's deputies of Ukraine, and representatives of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the Pension Fund of Ukraine, and public organisations.

Yuliia Laputina, the Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, in her welcoming speech, emphasized that the digitisation of services for veterans and their families was extremely important, and is a priority item on the ministry's agenda.

“In today's world, it is impossible to be effective without digital solutions,” Laputina said. “This is the way to a barrier-free society, so that veterans can get the services they need in just a few steps on their smartphones.”

“Digital solutions and products developed by the Ministry of Veterans allow data to be exchanged between the state registers of the central authorities and (registers kept by) local authorities, which greatly simplifies the provision of a range of services to a person – easily, quickly and without bureaucracy.” 

“Currently, state veteran policy is taking on a new meaning, new services and programmes are being created for veterans, and so all authorities, veterans and civil society should be involved in this process.”

The minister also presented the launch an the electronic service for applying for the position of veteran's assistant on the e-Veteran portal, an experimental project that has now been extended to 10 regions of Ukraine, in which, on an equal basis, it is already possible to participate by submitting an application on the specified web portal.

Tetiana Kalyta, the Deputy Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitization, presented a digital solution, namely the first stage of the transition from military service to civilian life, which is currently in alpha testing.

“In fact, the product is developed and a focus group has been recruited to test, verify and improve this product in order to further expand the testing, with the involvement of a larger audience,” said Kalyta. “This is a digital solution: After registering on the portal, a person answers a certain number of questions, which allows it to be determined which needs are more important for them, and allows people to orient themselves to those services that are relevant to them. For example, if a person lives in a particular community, they will receive all the appropriate services tied to that community. This gives people the opportunity to immediately orient themselves, (find out) where to go, (and) how to get services as quickly as possible.”

Olena Ursu, UNDP in Ukraine’s Democratic Governance Team Leader, noted that UNDP in Ukraine has for a long time been cooperating with the Ministry of Veterans Affairs on the implementation of joint initiatives. In particular, with funding from the Government of Sweden, UNDP has supported the development of a number of electronic services for veterans.

“The UN Development Programme considers the issue of supporting veterans, in particular on their return to civilian life, to be a priority. UNDP has been proud to partner with the ministry on a number of strategic initiatives designed to ease this transition for veterans by making the most of the digital transformation,” Ursu said.

UNDP in Ukraine, in a strategic partnership with the Government of Japan, supported the Ministry of Veterans Affairs in the implementation of the new state veteran policy, aimed, in particular, at the formation and implementation of the “Perehid” (Transition) system for the transition of veterans from military service to civilian life, through the creation of a corresponding electronic service on the e-Veteran portal.

Previously, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs launched two electronic services on its website, developed with the support of UNDP and the Government of Sweden: accepting applications for the competitive selection of candidates for the positions of veteran assistants within the framework of a pilot project in four regions – Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv and Mykolaiv, and registration for selection for the national team for the 2023 Invictus Games.

Media inquiries

Yuliia Samus, UNDP Ukraine Communications Team Leader, yuliia.samus@undp.org