Payments, support and rehabilitation: what benefits do Ukrainians released from captivity receive?

A new support system for returnees from captivity has been introduced in Ukraine.

According to the Ministry of Social Policy, this initiative aims to assist released individuals and their families. The main goal is to ensure quick and practical support.

Upon completion of captivity, military and civilian individuals immediately receive assistance in reintegration centers or medical institutions, and support continues at their place of residence. Families of those who were in captivity are also provided with support both during their loved ones’ captivity and after their return.

Contact persons:

Social protection units;

Administrative service centers;

Organizations providing social services.
If the released individual or their family agrees, other authorized persons can apply for assistance.

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War transmits data on returnees to communities so local authorities can promptly assist. Reintegration centers and medical institutions also cooperate.

Doctors and social workers work closely together, organizing rehabilitation and adaptation and solving everyday issues. If living conditions may affect the mental health of the released person, social services may be involved.

Before discharge, a doctor assesses the need for further assistance, from rehabilitation to living in specialized institutions. A psychologist also recommends long-term support, sometimes involving a family doctor or military specialists.

A case manager is assigned to each case and accompanies the person on the path to recovery.

Unfortunately, all these difficulties are the result of aggression by Russia, which provoked war in 2014, when Ukraine was beginning to recover from the difficult 1990s, so our resources are now intended for the protection and treatment of the wounded.