Veterans battling Russians, then the Ukrainian bureaucracy
Oleksii has seen the worst that life has to offer. Then he turned around to find his benefits blocked by red tape. Our report on how to help Ukrainian veterans.
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Sometimes, Oleksii Anulia feels like he had an easier life when he was a soldier and prisoner of war.
Oleksii was captured early in the war, and then held by the Russians for 10 months, where he survived torture. When he was released, he thought his ordeal was over.
But since the exchange, he has faced another struggle: Ukrainian bureaucracy.
He had to fight for the right to proper medical help: pay for his treatment himself, or find sponsors. Even after that, it has proven hard to get funding for a place at a university that he should have been entitled to.
Applying for benefits still requires writing many applications and visiting a dizzying number of government agencies; it’s almost impossible to get all the benefits you deserve. Veterans have to spend months, and sometimes years, to get what the government guarantees them for their service.
There are more than 1.3 million veterans in Ukraine, and this number is growing every day.
Currently, benefits for Ukrainian veterans often turn into symbolic ‘handouts’ that do not provide real support, leaving heroes on the brink of survival. This not only undermines social stability but raises a difficult question: not only how to win the war, but how to win the peace that comes after.
The issue highlights how Ukraine’s war against Russia is not just the physical conflict between two states – it’s also a war against old Russian and Soviet ways of doing business; a war against bureaucracy and corruption.
Oleksii Anulia went to war as a volunteer on February 24, 2022. He is from Chernihiv, in the north of Ukraine, bordering both Belarus and Russia. From the first day of the war, he was fighting the convoy of Russian vehicles that was marching on Kyiv through the Chernihiv region.
"[By] March 9th I was already wounded, and on March 10th I crawled to a neighboring village to escape, where a local woman turned me in," Oleksii told The Counteroffensive.
That's how he was captured. For 10 months, Oleksii's life became hell. In captivity, he was tortured, beaten, and starved to the point of eating worms and even a live rat in his cell.
After his release, when his torment was supposed to end, a new and different one began. Oleksii underwent rehabilitation and physical treatment. Although it was supposed to be free, he had to buy almost all of his medicines with his own money. He also had to undergo surgeries, and pay for some of his treatment.
Oleksii underwent 19 different surgeries as a result of his war wounds. Surgeries on his legs, collarbone, fingers, knees and jaw. He was operated on in a private hospital. Some of the surgeries were sponsored.
"I got discounts as a POW… There were times when a doctor could do it for free, but all the materials, the [sutures], had to be bought," Oleksii said.
He was ultimately quite lucky. Oleksii Anulia is quite popular in the media because of his story in Russian captivity. Often it was because of his media exposure that he was treated well by doctors in state hospitals.
But Oleksii was outraged by the treatment he saw of other former POWs.
He had been held with a conscript from the Marines. While in captivity, Oleksii was in a solitary confinement cell, and the other man was in the cell opposite.
"After these interviews, they treat me with great care; and at the same time tell him $400 for a silver thread [sutures]. And he doesn't have any money. And they tell him, that's it, after the operation, the next day we will discharge you, because you are not from our region," Oleksii said.
Since seeing this, Oleksii has always tried to find better places for rehabilitation for himself and his comrades. He has encouraged several men to go to Latvia for treatment.
Oleksii is not sure why this happens, but thinks it could be because some doctors expect bribes from patients. When veterans or the military do not bring them money, they are not interested in treating them.
Medical troubles are not the only problem Oleksii has faced.
According to Ukrainian law, veterans are entitled to a preferential place at a full-time university. But this only works in theory.
Oleksii enrolled to study rehabilitation at the Chernihiv Pedagogical University.
"I was promised [paid tuition] as a veteran, but now they are telling me to pay because they did not provide budget places for veterans," the man said.
Some of the veterans paid out of their own pockets, but Oleksii refused on principle.
It seems it was not the teachers or the university administration who were to blame. Instead, the Ministry of Education and Science did not provide the budget for Oleksii’s place. The Counteroffensive asked them for a comment to find out how this situation came about. However, we have not received an answer yet.
Meanwhile, the university administration offered Oleksii and other veterans to begin their studies, saying they would solve the problem of payment later.
There are more than two dozen stated government benefits for veterans in Ukraine.
Some of them include discounts and free services: free public transportation; free prescription drugs; free public dental services; a 50 percent discount on rail, road, sea, and air travel twice a year for each type of transport and a 70 percent discount on utilities.
So far, the only benefit Oleksii has received is a discount on utilities.
However, he had to wait at least nine months to be approved for this benefit. This month, in November, he received his first utility rebate.
“But to be honest, my conscience is kind of tormenting me. It's somehow unfair to others,” Oleksii said.
Ukraine’s veterans policy is outdated, as the list of benefits is based on a 1993 law. It even includes free installation of a wired phone, which almost nobody uses in the modern world.
Ukrainian legislation provides for, among other benefits, free accommodation and land for veterans.The Ukrainian Veterans Fund estimates that about 250,000 veterans are eligible for free accommodation.
However, there is not enough helpt to go around. This year's budget for veterans’ housing is enough for about 2,000 people.
Providing housing for 250,000 veterans, without taking into account the increase in their number over time, will take 125 years under current conditions. There is a similar problem with land, as more of it is needed for every veteran.
Video by BIHUS Info, which describes the main problems faced by Ukrainian veterans and how to fix them:
"That is why many veterans have prioritized that at least their children receive some benefits because they have long given up on themselves," Oleksii said bitterly.
He believes that Ukraine should adopt the Western way of giving veterans opportunities instead of handouts. If a veteran gets a job or starts a business and helps Ukraine’s economy, they feel useful, Oleksii said.
In addition, many benefits are based on the disability suffered as a result of combat, which is reviewed annually.
"What if they change the disability category next year? What then? He is constantly worried. How will I feed my children? How will I feed the children of my comrades? How will I feed my fallen brother's children?" Oleksii said.
NEWS OF THE DAY:
Good morning to readers; Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands.
PROBLEMS WITH UKRAINIAN FORTIFICATIONS HELP RUSSIA: Ukraine is urgently working to strengthen defensive lines against advancing Russian forces, but officials report delays and disorganization. Russian troops have pushed the frontline in Donetsk to within 15 km of Dnipropetrovsk, threatening the first incursion into a new Ukrainian region since 2022 – a development that would severely impact Kyiv’s war strategy.
Although $7.3 million was allocated to fortifications in Dnipropetrovsk from late 2023 to 2024, visible progress has been limited, with construction gaining momentum only recently. A Financial Times visit to the area revealed unfinished positions and scattered defenses. As a critical hub for Ukraine’s military command, support systems, and logistics, the region’s security is vital for sustaining Kyiv’s resistance.
CHINA MAY RESTRICT DRONE COMPONENTS: China plans to expand export restrictions on components used to produce various drones starting in 2025. This could make them more difficult to obtain, especially for Ukraine.
Recently, China has begun to reduce sales to the United States and Europe of key components used in drones, and the restrictions are planned to be tightened in 2025.
The reason for the plans is the recent escalation of the trade conflict with the United States - Washington has restricted the sale of high-bandwidth chips and semiconductors to China, and Beijing has responded by banning the sale of a number of goods that could be used for military purposes. This immediately led to an increase in the price of some components.
UKRAINIANS TRUST TRUMP, HIGHEST IN EUROPE: More than 44% of Ukrainians say they trust US President-elect Donald Trump, which is significantly higher than in any European country, according to a poll commissioned by the Ukrainian New Europe Center.
The level of trust in Trump is even higher than in Hungary, the most pro-Trump country, where 37% of people trust Trump. Trump was trusted by 16% in France and 30% in the UK.
This high level of support is likely due to expectations of a more decisive policy towards Ukraine from the new US administration, or some hope for Trump's promises of a rapid restoration of peace.
Trump's high level of trust may also have been influenced by disappointment with the policies of current US President Joe Biden, who, along with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, has fallen the most in the Ukrainian trust rating.
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Ukrainians thinking Trump will be good for them will never not be baffling
Quite a depressing post. Veterans like Oleksii have a tough row to hoe. They must keep organizing and fighting. Free tuition to college is so important a la the GI Bill in the US after WWII. Eliminating the inefficient Soviet-style bureauacracy is a continuing battle. Also, hearing that Russian forces are only 15 km from Dnipropetrovsk is very disturbing. I’m also wondering if the age of enlistment to UAF should be lowered a year or 2. That would make for an interesting post. You’ve probably already done one before on that topic, I can’t remember.