Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak visited the Coordination Headquarters on the treatment of prisoners of war and held a meeting with Ukrainian defenders who were released from Russian captivity.
During the meeting, Andriy Yermak reminded that the Headquarters was established on the instructions of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in March this year. The need for the establishment of such a structure was due to the fact that with the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the number of prisoners in the aggressor country from among Ukrainian servicemen of various units and law enforcement agencies was growing. Many specialists from law enforcement agencies and ministries were involved to organize the quality work of the Headquarters.
At the same time, the Head of the Office of the President emphasized the importance of involving servicemen who had been captured in the work of the Headquarters. According to him, their life experience will contribute to the establishment of proper and efficient work of the Headquarters, improvement of communication with relatives and friends of the persons still in captivity in Russia or on the temporarily occupied territories.
"Your expertise is very important for us - how well it is done. Because you went through this hell, you were directly aware of all the details, every part of the exchange process, you know best what was right, what was wrong," he said.
According to the Head of the President's Office, it is necessary to improve the work of the Headquarters in such a way that both the Ukrainian society and every warrior who defends Ukraine today understand that they are under the protection of the Ukrainian state.
"And if a warrior is in captivity, the state is engaged in his return 24/7 and informs his family about it," he also noted.
In addition, Andriy Yermak stressed the importance of providing everything necessary for Ukrainians who returned home from captivity, their rehabilitation, family support, etc. After all, being in captivity is difficult both physically and psychologically, so they need help in recovery and adaptation.
The Head of the President's Office said that more than a month ago, while communicating with the liberated soldiers and their families, he heard about the bureaucratic difficulties with the restoration of documents that sometimes arise for the liberated warriors. Therefore, Andriy Yermak appealed to Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, and after discussing this problem, it was decided to add special functionality for former prisoners of war to Diia.
According to Mykhailo Fedorov, the "Personal Manager" solution was developed, thanks to which the released from captivity will be able to receive assistance in restoring passports, marriage certificates, driver's licenses, etc. A personal card will be created for each prisoner of war in Diia and a support manager will be assigned to him/her.
Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and Head of the Coordination Headquarters Kyrylo Budanov, in his turn, noted that all servicemen who remained in service in various military and law enforcement agencies after the captivity can be involved in the work of the Headquarters on a voluntary basis.
Andriy Yermak emphasized the importance of the work of the Headquarters in the context of the fact that today there is virtually no international organization that can visit places of detention of Ukrainian prisoners, monitor their health, control the conditions of stay.
"We do not accept what we hear from the ICRC. It is impossible that in the XXI century there are concentration camps in the center of Europe, and they are waiting for months for approval to get there and check the conditions," he stated.
The Head of the Presidential Office also emphasized the importance of involving mass media representatives and the information center of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in the work of the Headquarters in order to enhance communication with the public, spread information on the activities and contacts for citizens' appeals.
During the visit to the Coordination Headquarters on the treatment of prisoners of war Andriy Yermak got acquainted with the work of the public reception, where people can get professional advice from representatives of ministries and agencies. Also, psychologists and lawyers work here on a permanent basis to help families of prisoners of war and persons who went missing in special circumstances.
In addition, the Coordination Center has a counseling telephone line designed to provide legal, social and psychological support to families of Ukrainian defenders who were captured or went missing. Branches of the Coordination Center already operate in Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Vinnytsia.
According to Kyrylo Budanov, as a result of the work of the Coordination Headquarters, 1456 Ukrainian defenders have already been released from the captivity of the aggressor state.