15 million in question: how the Government wants to change payments to families of missing soldiers
10 September 22:46
The Ukrainian government is preparing legislative changes that could significantly affect social guarantees for the families of military personnel reported missing. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Ukrainska Pravda.
The bill provides for a reduction in the one-time financial assistance in case of confirmation of the death of a defender. We are talking about 15 million hryvnias provided in case of death. The government proposes to deduct from this amount all charges that were made to the soldier during his status as a “missing person,” including a supplement of 100 thousand UAH per month.
How the current system works
Today, Ukrainian legislation guarantees families of fallen soldiers a one-time allowance of UAH 15 million. At the same time, for those who have the status of “missing in action,” the state continues to make cash payments, including an additional UAH 100,000 per month.
What the Government wants to change
According to the new approach, if a missing soldier is officially recognized as dead after a certain period of time, his family will not receive the full 15 million hryvnias, but the amount minus all charges made during his absence. In fact, this means that each month of the “missing” status will reduce the amount of the final compensation.
Potential consequences for families
Experts note that the implementation of such changes could significantly reduce the level of social support for thousands of families. After all, some of them receive the status of “missing” not for a few weeks, but for many months or even years. As a result, the final assistance in case of confirmation of death may be much less than provided by the current law.
Reaction of society and human rights activists
Military Ombudsman Olha Reshetylova emphasizes that her office receives hundreds of appeals every week, including from the families of missing persons. The main problems people complain about are insufficient communication with military units, lack of transparent information and a weak level of legal protection. In her opinion, changes in legislation can only aggravate the situation, because instead of strengthening guarantees, families risk losing a significant portion of their due payments.
What do MPs propose as opposed to the Cabinet of Ministers?
We are talking about draft law No. 14027, which was submitted to the Ukrainian parliament on September 10, 2025 by its initiators – Iryna Kostankevych, Yana Zinkevych, Oleksiy Honcharenko, Iryna Nikorak, and Maria Mezentseva-Fedorenko.
It is entitled Draft Law on Amendments to Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection” and subparagraph “a” of paragraph 1 of Article 16-2 of the Law of Ukraine “On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Members of Their Families” to ensure equality of rights in providing one-time financial assistance to family members of deceased (deceased) persons who participated in the defense of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity in 2014-2022
The document provides for a single one-time payment of UAH 15 million for all families who have lost loved ones in the war with Russia since 2014.
This will help support families in times of uncertainty, when there is no confirmed information about the fate of the soldier.
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What to expect next
So far, we are only talking about preparing a draft law. Its final form and chances of being passed by the Verkhovna Rada remain unknown. However, the very fact that such changes are being considered is already causing a resonance in society, as the issue of social guarantees for the families of killed and missing soldiers is one of the most sensitive in wartime.
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