Veterans Reintegration in Ukraine Assessment Report_20190404 PUBLIC VERSION.docx

Veterans Reintegration in Ukraine Assessment Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Bureau of Conflict Stabilization and Operations (CSO), in coordination with the U.S. interagency, conducted a desk study and field assessment of services available to the population of more than 360,000 war veterans of the Donbas conflict. Drawing from the assessment and ongoing research, CSO will develop programs to improve services and address risks connected to the reintegration of veterans into Ukrainian society.

The assessment found that veterans lack: 1) connectivity to support organizations and fellow veterans; 2) assistance securing meaningful employment and psychosocial support; 3) treatment for stress and anxiety disorders; and, 4) effective coordination of veteran’s issues. Absent improved engagement, war veterans are increasingly vulnerable to recruitment by violent criminal groups and fringe political/social causes, movements, and organizations. Inadequate reintegration of veterans could worsen societal tensions and fuel destabilizing factors within Ukraine.

A reintegration program focused on Ukrainian veterans and their families, along with a fully funded and effective Ministry of Veteran’s Affairs, could contribute to preventing and countering a multitude of risks the population faces, including radicalization by violent organizations.

Supporting the reintegration of veterans in Ukraine advances the National Security Strategy’s (NSS) Pillar IV stating, “[w]e will place a priority on economic support that achieves local and macroeconomic stability, helps build capable security forces, and strengthens the rule of law.” Further, the Joint Strategic Plan says the United States will “[i]ncrease capacity and strengthen resilience of our partners and allies to deter aggression, coercion, and malign influence by state and non-state actors (JSP 1.4),” and that we will “[s]trengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of our diplomacy and development investments (JSP 4.1).” A veterans reintegration program aims to prioritize data collection and analysis, assist the establishment of a Ministry for Veterans Affairs (MoVA), and support the successful reintegration of veterans back into society through vocational training, job placement, and psychosocial assistance. These objectives are also consistent with the Ukraine Integrated Country Strategy (ICS).

BACKGROUND

The Situation for Ukraine’s Veterans

The nearly five-year conflict in Ukraine created more than a 360,000 war veterans. This surge of veterans puts additional pressure on an already insufficient system with scarce resources. The GOU tasked several ministries and offices with providing the growing veteran population with benefits and services, but this effort lacks resources and coordination. Civil society provides some services, such as funding grassroots mental health and messaging initiatives; however, it is also insufficient and ad-hoc.

The growing number of veterans coincides with a rise in violent criminal groups and fringe political/social causes, movements, and organizations. Anecdotal evidence and reporting suggests veterans are increasingly marginalized and are turning to protests and violent actions in frustration, making them ripe for recruitment by fringe organizations. Ideology may not be the main driver. Other reported reasons for joining radical organizations included frustration with the government, financial need, and isolation.

GOU’s Support to Veterans

The GOU provides a range of benefits, although lacking in service delivery, to Ukrainians who served in World War II, the Soviet–Afghanistan War, and most recently in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) and subsequent Joint Forces Operation (JFO) in the Donbas. These benefits include monthly monetary allowances, discounts on medical and pharmacy services, free use of public transportation, retention priority in work layoffs, easier access to loans and associated approval processes, preference when applying for security-related positions, application priority to vocational or trade schools, and electricity, gas, housing, and land subsidies.

Since the start of the ATO/JFO, however, Ukraine’s parliament has passed more than 30 laws on social protection for veterans, with 33 national level committees responsible for implementation. Delivery of those protections is inconsistent at best and non-existent at worst. Most of the laws also provide their own definition of who qualifies as a veteran, creating inconsistencies and confusion in the system.

Request from Embassy Kyiv and the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs

CSO, with the assistance of USAID, Embassy Kyiv, and DOD counterparts, evaluated current programming serving Ukrainian veterans, identified existing challenges and gaps in services, and endeavored to build relationships with a network of experts and establish potential partners serving veterans and their families. This assessment will inform the design of a veteran’s reintegration strategy and program(s) in Ukraine.

FIELD ASSESSMENT

CSO augmented desk research with a five-day field assessment in Kyiv, Ukraine in October 2018. CSO officers consulted with U.S. government officials, international organizations, civil society, and other stakeholders. CSO evaluated the capabilities of service providers, identified existing vulnerabilities in services offered to Ukrainian veterans, and examined geographic and economic factors influencing veterans’ reintegration. Below is the full list of consultations:

U.S. Government Political and Political-Military sections Acting U.S. Assistance Coordinator Department of Defense USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives USAID’s Office of Health U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, PEPFAR Branch U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Civil Society Organizations and Academic Institutions Veteran Hub Legal Hundred Kyiv School of Economics International Organizations International Renaissance Foundation International Medical Corps World Bank Other Stakeholders British Embassy’s Regional Conflict Advisor United Kingdom’s Deputy Special Defence Advisor GoU President's Office of the Commissioner for the Rehabilitation of Combatants

CHALLENGES

Limited Data Availability

Data confirming assertions is limited. NGOs and local media have reported that the veteran population faces obstacles to reintegration and is susceptible to recruitment by violent criminal groups and fringe political/social causes, movements, and organizations. Data supporting these assertions is limited. There is only anecdotal evidence to support CSO’s initial program design assumption that – along with well-coordinated and robust veterans’ assistance from Ukraine – veterans need job assistance and psychosocial support to mitigate recruitment by violent criminal groups and fringe political/social causes, movements, and organizations.

NGOs and government ministries lack resources and capability to gather and maintain data. NGOs have gathered limited data through interviews with veterans and their families, active military, friends, lawyers, and employers. However, information gaps remain. Government ministries reportedly maintain a registry of veterans, but it is not readily available to any/most outside those ministries.

No Common Definition of Veterans

Not all veterans qualify for benefits. Ukrainian laws provide a reported 36 different definitions for war veterans, and not all qualify for the various veterans’ benefits. For example, many women have served on the line of contact in eastern Ukraine under the same conditions and firing the same weapons as their male counterparts. Female soldiers, however, are not legally eligible to receive the same veteran services and benefits granted to their male colleagues, since women are deployed to the contact line with the designation of “cook”, or other supporting roles, while in actuality they serve a combat function. CSO also identified differences between “pensioners” who retired from the military after service, and “veterans,” a term that only seems to cover combat veterans.

Volunteer battalions lack official documentation. Many who fought in the ATO in the early months of the conflict did so as part of unofficial volunteer battalions. While these battalions have since integrated into regular government forces, those who fought and returned in the first years of the conflict find it difficult to prove their service when applying for benefits because they lack official documents.

Veterans Lack Information on and/or Access to Benefits

Veterans do not know what is available. Some civil society organizations insist many veterans are unaware of available benefits and face challenges to service access in any case. Several proposed grassroots projects focus on messaging solutions aiming to fill information gaps. The President’s Commissioner for the Rehabilitation of Combatants Vadym Svyrydenko supports that view, claiming veterans need information on the benefits and services available to them, and how to receive them.

A coordinated service delivery system is absent. Establishing a comprehensive and coordinated service delivery system is critical to administering veterans’ benefits and services throughout the country. No government agency is coordinating or facilitating efforts, thus this service does not exist.

Fragmented Psychosocial Assistance

Healthcare systems need more attention. A comprehensive approach to psychosocial services for veterans is critical. Many organizations are focused on psychosocial assistance for veterans. Coordination among these organizations is poor, and they lack the resources to take on additional work.

Over-investment in PTSD. Service organizations recommended the State Department address substance abuse issues and increase peer-support programs. These organizations also expressed concern that the primary focus of the mental health effort in Ukraine is on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which they said is a relatively rare condition. They noted PTSD brings people and much-needed money to mental health providers but that efforts should instead focus on addressing the more common trauma- and stress-related disorders and depression.

Corruption in Land and Housing Allotments

Land and housing allotments as benefits. Free housing and property are among the benefits available to Ukrainian veterans. Veterans of the ATO/JFO in Donbas are eligible to receive apartments if they stay on active duty or a plot of 1,000 square meters of land for building purposes in the district of their registration once they have separated from the military.

Fraud in allotment benefits. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense (MoD), in coordination with the office of the President, requested the Independent Defense Anti-Corruption Committee (NAKO) write a report on how the Defense Housing System is managing the allotment of land and property to veterans. The report revealed widespread fraud and corruption were keeping this benefit from reaching veterans. Incidents included funding allotted for apartments never built, construction “delays” due to “winter”, and numerous payment requirements. Veterans had to pay to get on waiting lists for housing, pay to advance up the waiting list, and pay again if they received one of the few completed properties.

NAKO proposed recommendations. 1) Improve waiting list management via new alternative housing supply mechanisms; 2) address corruption risks/abuses of authority through reform of the housing management system; and, 3) develop a new system of social protection for service members and phase out the old Soviet-based promises.

Inaccessible Employment and Vocational Training

Employment counseling and training needed. Many of the organizations and individuals interviewed by CSO said a lack of employment opportunities for veterans is a primary source of frustration. Some veterans claim employers mistrust returning soldiers, others believe they are just experiencing the same employment problems found across Ukraine. Programs aimed at enhancing economic opportunities for veterans and their families could serve as entry points for other assistance, such as mental health.

Employment through private security companies. Programs geared toward helping veterans learn new skills and earn a living could give those individuals more constructive options. Consultations with the Kyiv School of Economics and the International Renaissance Foundation reinforced the need for employment counseling and vocational assistance.

Barriers to Reintegration

Systemic problems and societal stigmas obstruct delivery of services and benefits. As described above, there are up to 36 different definitions of what constitutes a veteran. Many former soldiers, especially women, do not qualify for benefits under any of the definitions. Other issues, though, often involve a veteran’s interactions within their own communities. Tram and trolley drivers, for instance, often do not want to recognize and give the benefit of free transportation. CSO heard anecdotes of employees not hiring veterans because they are unstable (though other companies reportedly give veterans hiring preference over other qualified citizens).

Post-service assistance. In the Ukrainian system, the regional recruitment centers are expected to manage the on boarding and the release of soldiers they recruit. CSO was told entrance into Ukraine’s armed forces actually varies soldier-to-soldier, and many leave without a support structure in place.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Program Design

Designing a reintegration program. A reintegration program should connect veterans with the already-active network of community-based support providers and enhance the process and delivery of benefits and services. A baseline study of veterans and their communities should be conducted at the outset of program design. The results of this study would help to inform additional areas of programming. At this early stage, programming should focus on data collection and analysis; supporting the establishment of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs (MoVA), including a well-developed communications strategy; ensuring access to psychosocial and mental health services; and, ensuring access to employment and vocational training.

Baseline Study

Conduct a baseline study to identify geographic focus and tailor services. A reintegration program will be rooted in an analysis of the veteran population, as well as the receiving communities, to identify clusters and subgroups with particular needs and to tailor services to the specific needs of veterans and their communities in specific locations. Program implementers will conduct a baseline survey of the target population. CSO will use the results to define priorities and appropriately allocate resources in the various phases of the reintegration plan.

Data Collection

Supporting data collection to address information gaps. Absent available data, CSO could fund a program that focuses on collecting data on various gaps in our current knowledge through local partners.

Psychosocial and Mental Health Services

A comprehensive approach to psychosocial services is critical. This approach could include: addressing substance abuse issues; destigmatizing mental health care and natural support systems; increasing peer support programs; and providing adequate, evidence-based health care provider training.

Employment and Vocational Training

Supporting existing programs. CSO could work with existing successful employment training programs and expand or supplement them to reach more veterans.

UNCLASSIFIEDBUREAU OF CONFLICT AND STABILIZATION OPERATIONS

Anticipating, Preventing, and Responding to Conflict

BUREAU OF CONFLICT AND STABILIZATION OPERATIONS

Increase information technology (IT) sector engagement. In addition, several Ukrainian private IT companies have had success finding college students, training them in their final years in school, and then hiring them immediately upon graduation. A software company headquartered in Lviv, created a software camp that aims to do the same for veterans. Similar programs, train individuals in technology skills and places the most successful in jobs with some of these IT companies. These models could be replicated to target the veteran community.

UNCLASSIFIED

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