On the Day of the National Flag of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the opening of the III International Volunteer and Veterans Forum "Ukraine is Where We Are".
The Head of State noted that the pandemic period once again showed that the veteran and volunteer communities are always ready to be the first to help and protect the country - "either from the aggressor, or from coronavirus".
According to the President, despite the difficult year since the previous meeting, there was a real interaction between the Office of the President, the Parliament and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, which led to the adoption of a law on granting volunteers the status of combatants, and allowed to preserve funding for major budget programs of the Ministry of Veterans.
"I often met with the families of our fallen heroes, soldiers. Their parents and relatives were absolutely right: everyone is a hero - everyone who defends Ukraine, everyone who died for Ukraine. It doesn't matter if it's 2014 or 2019. Why is there such an injustice in payments then? This issue has been resolved, and from August 1, the families of the fallen servicemen will receive targeted assistance in addition to the pension," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Separately, the President noted the importance of granting citizenship to foreign volunteers who fought for Ukraine, which was not the case before.
"I really believe that people who went to defend our state should receive a Ukrainian passport without any questions. And it is an honor for us," he said.
The Head of State also stressed that despite the coronavirus epidemic and the restrictive measures associated with its containment, the authorities managed to preserve funding for national security and defense.
"We have not cut a penny from the army," the President stressed.
However, according to him, there is a lot of work ahead. In particular, the treatment and rehabilitation of combatants needs to be improved.
"Today, I will sign a decree on the development of a system of sports rehabilitation of veterans and their families," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
The President added that in general, work in this direction is not a matter of one significant date, it should be carried out constantly, systematically and consistently, outside any political context.
