veterans

"I’m not person to ask where TCR is." Veteran Yevhen Shybalov worked as taxi driver after captivity and wrote book One of the few Ukrainian journalists who worked in occupied Donetsk. An employee of an international organization. A volunteer from the first day of the full-scale invasion. A prisoner whom the Russians tried to portray as an "American spy." An employee of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. A writer. A taxi driver. Yevhen Shybalov. Censor.NET interviewed Yevhen about his entire military and personal journey. 03.09.26 22:45 8 459 79 Previously in trend: AFU veterans

Eight arguments in favor of private military companies that people are afraid to say out loud In May, Ukrainians once again defeated an allied army during joint NATO exercises, this time in Sweden. Under the exercise scenario, the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea became a target amid a military buildup near NATO’s eastern borders. Ukrainian troops acted as instructors and "aggressors." As a result, Swedish forces were destroyed by Ukrainian drones ahead of schedule, and commanders were forced to halt the drills three times. 09.07.26 19:39 6 208 90 Previously in trend: Ukraine’s Armed Forces share military experience with European countries Private military companies in Ukraine

We’ve learned to watch. But we still haven’t learned to act When I had just signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine after serving in a volunteer battalion, it was a cool, rainy autumn in 2015, we came to Pokrovsk to pick up our army payroll cards at PrivatBank. To a city that was still called Krasnoarmiisk back then, Krasik. To a city that has now, for all practical purposes, been wiped off the face of the earth. 19.12.25 17:34 6 151 7 Previously in trend: aid to veterans

Open-air therapy: how new rehabilitation format works for service members and war veterans New approaches to rehabilitation for service members and war veterans are emerging in Ukraine. These are programs that combine physical recovery, psychotherapy and work with the environment. One such area is therapeutic horticulture, which has been used effectively around the world for many years. 28.11.25 22:07 6 265 10

Death of Andrii (Kapa) Hlembotskyi: Why can’t soldier’s family receive compensation even four years after his death? The story of the death of soldier Andrii Hlembotskyi and the bureaucratic circles of hell his family has had to endure is well known and has been covered by nearly every media outlet. The Ukrainian defender, known by his call sign Kapa, returned from Israel specifically to defend his homeland. He was killed in action on August 23, 2022, during a combat mission, yet his wife and three children have still not received the compensation of 15 million hryvnias that they are entitled to. The reason: six months into the full-scale war, Hlembotskyi had not been officially enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 07.11.25 19:13 12 091 24

"You lose your sense of purpose after war. After everything at front, deliver pizza?" – Hero of Ukraine, war veteran Dmytro Finashyn Why is it difficult for service members to find a job after returning home? Can veterans "sell" the skills they gained in the war to the criminal elements? How can one earn a living if they were blinded as a result of a combat injury? Who should help people living alone who are bedridden due to their wounds? 05.11.25 21:25 13 956 32 Previously in trend: aid to veterans AFU veterans

Dmytro Hnatiuk: I saw guys with amputations, with all kinds of injuries. And they were so full of life, so active. It really motivated me! After returning from the war, suffering a severe injury, and undergoing long rehabilitation, Marine Dmytro Hnatiuk began a new battle. Having founded a veterans’ council in Mykolaiv, he is trying to change the system from within: to overcome bureaucracy, direct war veterans to places where they will truly receive help, and make their voices heard by the authorities. 20.10.25 22:00 8 916 2

"Fact that veteran asks to turn down volume of music in car or in restaurant does not mean that he is making complaint. It may simply be causing him pain," veteran Ruslan Pelekhatyi Before the full-scale war, Ruslan Pelekhatyi served in the police, and when the assault brigade "Liut" was formed, he went to the front as an infantryman-assault soldier. Talking about this period, he says that it was a conscious decision. As was his subsequent decision to return to work in the police, but in a civilian position dealing with veterans’ policy issues. 22.08.25 15:30 30 107 39

"Veteran has already proven everything to society. Now question is to society" – Maksym Kolesnikov on soldier’s life after war After returning from captivity and demobilization, Maksym Kolesnikov, whose photos showing him thin, in old dirty fatigues, holding a fresh apple, have appeared on media covers, continued to personally assist soldiers, veterans, and their families. 24.07.25 16:08 7 153 23 Previously in trend: aid to veterans Support for freed POWs

War veteran Serhii Velychanskyi: "Government’s Veterans Policy Strategy is just same like billion trees." Before the fateful February 24, Serhii (Charismatic) Velychanskyi was a successful host, actor, and business coach. But he took up arms and went to defend his country. 03.02.25 22:58 8 129 12

Reintegration of veterans through education: human rights in action Amnesty International Ukraine, together with the Danish section, the Danish government, and Ukrainian organizations such as the Women’s Veterans Movement, and Hospitallers, is launching a project for veterans in the new year. 25.12.24 19:12 2 444 14

Pavlo Yakymchuk, war veteran of SOF, call sign Nimble: "Lot of people work for president – and they can’t figure out how to encourage people to fight for Ukraine" A soldier of the 73rd Marine Center wounded in Kherson region has recently returned from the United States, where he studied the experience of communicating with veterans. According to him, it is the treatment of soldiers after service, benefits and social incentives that encourage Americans to join the military. 14.08.24 22:38 16 842 95

Businessman and volunteer Viacheslav Zaporozhets: "When we brought 33 seriously wounded people from Chernihiv to Kyiv and their lives were saved here, I got great pleasure" There is an opinion that war brings out the good and the bad in people. On the one hand, it seems too pretentious and black and white for our complex 21st century. On the other hand, look at the story of Viacheslav Zaporozhets. 19.07.24 23:42 6 234 2 Previously in trend: War

Masi Naiiem: "Information about how military personnel are treated has great impact on attitudes towards mobilization and, consequently, on defense capabilities" Recently, five non-governmental organizations, including the human rights organization "Pryntsyp (Principle-ed.)," presented a new concept of veterans’ policy. So we talked with Masi Naiiem, a soldier and co-founder of this organization, about how it can be implemented so that the military, upon returning from the front, can receive quality rehabilitation and psychological assistance, and a multidisciplinary team can immediately work with the wounded in the hospital, whose specialists would think ahead not only about surgical intervention but also about further prosthetics, if necessary. 06.12.23 18:46 15 978 0

Under shadow of Russia’s war, Ukrainian veterans and families of fallen try to move on The trench lines of Europe’s only ongoing land war are six hours away by train from Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv. But you can hardly tell. Businesses and bars and universities and protests and politics—in other words, life—all go on and on despite the war. 22.10.18 10:33 361 0 Previously in trend: Russian aggression against Ukraine

Ukraine’s Wounded Veterans Honored, a Nation is Inspired The Ukrainian team finished the Invictus Games with 14 medals, including 8 gold. 04.10.17 15:44 203 0

Heroes of two wars Photographer Oleksandr Chekmenev made a photo series of heroes from two wars that affected Ukraine - the WWII and the current war in the Donbas. 10.05.17 11:14 38 343 8 Previously in trend: Russian aggression against Ukraine War