Ukrainian government increases aid to children of deceased volunteer fighters

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has increased the amount of state social assistance for children of deceased volunteer fighters. 

According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, this concerns the children of deceased Ukrainian soldiers who voluntarily participated in the defense of the country, Rubryka reports.

However, those who were part of territorial community volunteer formations were not included.

Starting from April 1, automatic payments will increase from ₴2,361 to ₴7,800 per underage child and up to ₴6,100 hryvnias for each child if there are two or more in the family.

The government has addressed the issue of providing social assistance to the children of volunteer fighters, who, according to the Law "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of their Social Protection," are recognized as family members of deceased defenders of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Veterans Affairs initiated the changes following working meetings with the families of the deceased.

March 14 is the Day of the Ukrainian Volunteer Fighter in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Syrskyi, congratulated the volunteer fighters defending Ukraine.

This day was established on January 17, 2017, by the Ukrainian parliament to honor the courage and heroism of defenders of Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, strengthening patriotic spirit in society, increasing social attention and care for members of volunteer formations, and supporting public initiatives.

This date was not chosen by chance. On March 14, 2014, the first volunteer fighters went to the training base in Novi Petrivtsi near Kyiv directly from the Maidan protest. The contribution of the first wave of volunteer fighters is difficult to overestimate. Volunteer battalions allowed for mobilization and training of professional replacements for conscripts.

In the first weeks of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, nearly 100,000 volunteers joined the ranks of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces.

Even a cursory historical excursion shows that the phenomenon of voluntarism has long been inherent to Ukrainians. One of the earliest examples is the Zaporizhian Sich — a militarized structure of volunteer battalions that defended Ukraine for centuries.