Kyiv, 30 June 2023 – On 1 July, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine will start to accept electronic applications for the competitive selection of candidates for positions as veterans’ assistants within the framework of a pilot project, which will continue in Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, and Mykolaiv regions. 

The service was developed by the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs of Ukraine with the assistance of the DIA Support project, which is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine with financial support from Sweden. 

The task of veterans’ assistants will primarily be to provide individual professional support within the framework of the system for transitioning to civilian life. This involves consulting, organizational work, representation of interests, training, employment, and so on. 

The selection of candidates for veterans’ assistants will consist of online testing and an interview conducted by commissions, which will include psychologists, and be formed by local self-government bodies. After the competitive selection of applications, the successful candidates will undergo specialized training and will be employed in a service office for veterans' affairs in one of the regions participating in the pilot project. 

Yulia Laputina, Minister for Veteran Affairs of Ukraine, appealed to the representatives of the veteran communities of Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, and Mykolaiv regions, where the pilot testing of the new service system will take place before its nationwide scaling, asking them to start submitting their candidacies for the competitive selection. 

“We are waiting for your applications and your active civil position, which will help our defenders to start a new, peaceful chapter of their lives with dignity, to return to their family and friends, to their favourite professions or to set up their own business, to acquire a dream profession or restore health lost in the war and service as much as possible,” she said. 

Veterans’ assistant candidates can be citizens of Ukraine, veterans, family members, injured participants in the Revolution of Dignity, family members of deceased veterans who speak Ukrainian, live in the community where the recipients of the corresponding social support live, have qualifications not lower than junior bachelor's level and are registered in the Unified State Register of War Veterans, and have a tax registration number. 

To participate in the competition, candidates must submit electronic applications on the E-veteran information portal. To fill them out, candidates need to have: an electronic signature (file key, hardware key or Diia.Signature); education documents; and for family members of a veteran a document confirming family ties is required. If applications are submitted by family members, veterans must approve them with their electronic signatures. A person can submit no more than one application. Once sent, applications cannot be edited. 

Christophoros Politis, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Ukraine, said UNDP, alongside its partners, remains committed to supporting the Government of Ukraine as it enhances services to veterans. UNDP, through its public service modernization activities, focuses on ensuring that no one is left behind, and that services are tailored to the current needs of Ukrainians, with a special emphasis on veterans and their integration into civilian life.  

“UNDP is extremely proud to support the introduction of the veterans’ assistant initiative, which will provide veterans with individual support, helping them return to civilian life,” he said. “UNDP sees this initiative as reconfirming its commitments to ensuring that public services, including social services, become more accessible, targeted and more transparent.” 

Earlier, UNDP in Ukraine supported a number of initiatives of the Ministry of Veteran Affairs, using funding from Sweden and helping to develop electronic services for veterans. So, in February, the e-Veteran portal started registration to select the national team for the Invincible Games-2023. The organization also supported the technical implementation of the electronic service allowing veterans who were disabled as a result of the war to register for financial assistance from the Red Cross of Ukraine. It also supported the service for applying for grants to set up or develop one's own business within the framework of the eRobota programme on the Diia portal. 

Media inquiries 

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