Increased participation: veterans with disabilities unite in the NAIU to protect their rights
August 5, 2025
Share:
War veterans who are returning to civilian life today need assistance and protection, including benefits for treatment, rehabilitation, and employment. Our defenders need access to medical facilities. At the same time, representatives of civil society organizations seek a constructive attitude from local authorities, providing them with proposals for improving the integration of veterans with disabilities into public life. Veterans who are internally displaced persons require special protection, as they live in other regions and need special support from their new communities.
These and other issues were collected and summarized during the meeting of the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine with veterans with disabilities, entitled "Dialogue for the Future." According to the participants of the event, many veterans today are unaware of their rights and do not know how to defend them.
Therefore, the NAPD decided to create a structure that would coordinate the study of issues affecting veterans with disabilities, lobby for the protection of their interests in state and local government bodies, and provide necessary assistance to war veterans themselves.
"We will focus all our efforts on improving access for people with disabilities, especially war veterans, to rehabilitation and other types of assistance," said Valery Sushkevich, chairman of the National Assembly of People with Disabilities. "Therefore, we are initiating a 'horizontal' principle of uniting veterans, calling on them to join the NAPD, an organization with significant experience in human rights activities aimed at protecting people with disabilities."
"Today's meeting is the beginning of a great deal of work that we will be doing together," said former military officer Ruslan Topchan, who will coordinate work with veterans and veterans' organizations at the NAPD.
As noted by the NAPD, one of the main areas of activity of the organization is to involve people with disabilities, including war veterans, in the reconstruction and economic recovery of Ukraine, as well as to integrate these people into civilian life by increasing their participation in decision-making at the central and local levels.
NAPD Resource Centre::
Address: Office 109, 8/5A Reitarska St., Kyiv
Прийом за попереднім записом за тел.: +38(044)2796182, +38(095)9091413
or by email: hubnapd@gmail.com
This material is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of Momentum Wheels for Humanity and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
The birth of their first child, a girl, was a great joy for the Dobrynin family. A sweet, cheerful, playful child - and no suspicions, neither from parents nor from doctors... Only later did her mother, Olena Vasylivna, begin to notice alarming signals - a speech delay, difficulties in social interaction. ...Katia always perceived the world in a childlike way. It was difficult for her to feel the boundaries - what [...]
A public dialogue with the management of the Storozhynets Multidisciplinary Intensive Care Hospital was held in the Storozhynets community to discuss accessibility of medical services for people with disabilities and other low-mobility groups. The meeting was attended by representatives of public organizations of people with disabilities, veterans« organizations, community members, representatives of the Storozhynets City Council, as well as hospital management and staff. The format of the open dialog [...]
- Going outside, going on business, taking a walk with friends - all these simple things that until recently were so easy suddenly became enormous, almost insurmountable difficulties," recalls Olga Vinogradova, a civil activist from Mykolaiv, recalling the events of long ago. It happened when she had just turned sixteen. An injury sustained in a car accident changed her life significantly, [...]
Safety should be accessible to everyone. During a full-scale war in Ukraine, with constant air raids, a shelter is not just a technical room, but a space that saves lives. And if some community members are physically unable to get there or navigate inside, it means unequal access to safety. On February 26, in Opishne, Poltava region, [...]
We bring to your attention the recording of a webinar held by the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine within the framework of the project «Strengthening the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Response and Recovery in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities». The speaker of the event is Yaroslav Taranets, Head of the Advocacy Team at the Vostok SOS Charitable Foundation. You will hear an analysis of support programs, [...]
For over forty years, he has been using a wheelchair. But for a long time now, he has not perceived it as a symbol of limitation, but rather as an element of forward movement. The path to the goal, on which he has to overcome barriers and solve very difficult everyday tasks. ...The trauma happened when I was a teenager. At a time when most people are making their first plans for adulthood, Oleh had to [...]
