Civil society activists want to know the names of officials who plan to cut the veterans' policy budget for 2025

Civil society activists are unsatisfied with the Cabinet of Ministers' plans to cut spending on veterans' policy in 2025 and ask Prime Minister Shmyhal to publicly explain the Cabinet's position. 

The reason for the discontent was the budget declaration for 2025-2027which was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 28 June and envisages a significant reduction in funding for veterans' policy from UAH 13.5 billion in 2024 to UAH 5.7 billion in 2025. 

According to Vitalii Hersak, Head of NGO Free and Faithful (Vilni ta Virni) and a volunteer soldier, every year and with every wounded soldier, several tens of thousands of new veterans join the 1.2 million veterans who were there at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and after the war ends, several million more will be added at one time (with family members), but the amount of spending is reduced.

"Don't ask me where the logic is! However, the Road Fund will be restored, with a budget of UAH 44 billion for 2025, UAH 124 billion for 2026, and UAH 233 billion for 2027. This is the main problem of today," Hersak said.

According to civil society activists, the text of this declaration also suggests that in 2025-2027, such elements of veterans' policy as state-guaranteed housing loans, benefits for veteran businesses and other direct financial support programmes, i.e. the most effective instruments, will not be launched. Officials will also try to monetise support for veterans as much as possible and limit its duration, arguing that this is necessary to avoid putting veterans on the path of paternalism and blocking their personal development.

Dissatisfied veterans' advocates are planning to formally appeal to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal to express the Cabinet's public position on funding veterans' policy in 2025. They also want to receive information from the Prime Minister about the specific items of expenditure to be cut and which ministers were the authors of this initiative and submitted the relevant proposals when preparing the document.

"Let's make public the names of those who openly harm the interests of veterans, block effective veteran policy and sabotage the public demand for decent support for the defenders of the Homeland. First, we will look them in the eye, and if it doesn't work, we will take more effective measures of people's power," Hersak said.