The armed confrontation in Donbass has led to the emergence of a new category of citizens in Ukraine - combatants (UBD). According to official data, there are more than 346 thousand of them. EtCetera found out what benefits the UBD status guarantees, how to get this status and what to do if you are denied a certificate or benefits.

I CORRECTLY UNDERSTAND: THE PARTICIPANT OF COMBAT ACTIONS IS THE SAME THAT THE PARTICIPANT OF ATO?

In general, yes. The UBD status is granted to fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, volunteer battalions, as well as border guards, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine, who fought against militants and Russian invaders in Donetsk and Luhansk regions for at least 30 days. If a fighter, performing tasks in the ATO / OOS zone, received a concussion, injury or injury, the 30-day rule does not apply to him. The same applies to those who performed combat missions in direct collision conditions.

HOW TO OBTAIN A CERTIFICATE OF A COMMITTEE?

Whether or not to grant UBD status is decided by a special commission. To do this, she must study the documents confirming the participation of a fighter in hostilities. These documents are submitted to the commission by the commander of the military unit or unit in which the soldier served. However, you can collect and transfer documents yourself.

To obtain the UBD status, you need:

- certificate of participation in hostilities;

- relevant extracts from the orders of the General Staff;

- extracts from orders on arrival in the ATO / OOS zone.

If a soldier stayed at the front for less than 30 days, but managed to take part in a battle or reconnaissance operation, then he will also need extracts from orders and reports confirming this fact.

They say that volunteers DO NOT GIVE UBD STATUS. THIS IS TRUE?

Not really. We are talking about those fighters of the volunteer battalions who fought in 2014-2015. The fact is that in 2015, almost all volunteers received legal status as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard or the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Accordingly, their fighters received the status of participants in hostilities.

Those who were demobilized earlier need to prove their participation in hostilities. This requires:

— Firstly, find at least two ATO / OOS participants who will confirm that the person really fought;

- Secondly, confirmation that the battalion has received official status.

Therefore, many volunteers were indeed left without UBD status.

ARE THERE THOSE WHO RECEIVED THE STATUS OF UBD UNFAIR?

Unfortunately there is. Even a special term has appeared - "military tourism". This type of fraud appeared due to the fact that not only the front line itself, but also nearby peaceful cities (for example, Slavyansk or Kramatorsk) is considered the ATO / JFO zone. After spending 30 days there, a person can apply for the status of a participant in hostilities and the corresponding benefits, without taking part in the battles. Basically, “military tourism” is carried out by officials and law enforcement officers.

CAN THE UBD STATUS BE TAKEN?

They can. It happens in three cases:

- if the fighter committed a grave or especially grave crime while participating in the ATO / JFO;

- if a fighter provided false information about his participation in hostilities;

- if the fighter himself has refused such a status.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR THE PARTICIPANTS IN COMBAT ACTIONS?

- free services of lawyers and advocates;

- allotment of land plots for construction, a garden or a vegetable garden, and for those who need to improve their living conditions - priority provision of housing (within two years from the date of registration of apartments);

- free travel in city and suburban transport;

- 75% discount on utility bills, heating and rent (disabled veterans do not pay for communal services at all);

- Free prescription drugs and free first-order dentures;

- free spa treatment (or compensation for its cost, if a military man wants to be treated at his own expense).

In addition, a combatant has the right to receive a preferential loan for building a house, overhauling housing, buying a country house and landscaping a garden plot. A military man can repay such a loan within 10 years, starting from the fifth year after the completion of construction.

ARE THE FAMILIES OF COMBAT PARTICIPANTS EXTENDED BY THE FUNCTIONS?

Yes. Discounts on utility bills and priority services in hospitals apply not only to the military, but also to their families. In addition, children of veterans under the age of 23 can count on government support for vocational and higher education. The state guarantees such children full or partial tuition fees, social stipends, free textbooks and free accommodation in a hostel.

AND WHAT, ALL UBD REALLY RECEIVE THESE BENEFITS?

The procedure for granting the legal status of a participant in hostilities to persons who defended the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and took a direct part in the anti-terrorist operation, ensuring its implementation or in the implementation of measures to ensure national security and defense, repulse and contain the armed aggression of the Russian Federation in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, ensuring their implementation, was approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated August 20, 2014 No. 413 as amended.

Participant status combat action provided:

1. Servicemen (reservists, liable for military service) of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the State Border Service, the State Special Transport Service, servicemen of the military prosecutor's offices, individuals of the rank and file of the operational support units of the anti-terrorist operation zones of the State Fiscal Service, police officers, a number of servicemen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Security Directorate, the State Special Communications Service, the State Service for the Inspection of the State, the State Penitentiary Service, and other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine that defended the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and took a direct part in the anti-terrorist operation, ensuring its conduct, being directly in the areas of the anti-terrorist operation during its conduct, in the implementation of measures to ensure national security and defense, to repulse and contain the armed aggression of the Russian Federation in Donetsk and Lug oblasts, ensuring their implementation, being directly in the regions and during the period of implementation of these measures;

2. Persons who, as part of volunteer formations that were formed or self-organized to protect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, took a direct part in the anti-terrorist operation, ensuring its conduct, being directly in the areas of the anti-terrorist operation during its conduct, provided that that in the future such volunteer formations, in accordance with the list determined by the anti-terrorist center under the SBU and the General Staff of the Armed Forces, were included in the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Police, the National Guard and other military formations and law enforcement agencies formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine.

The status of a participant in hostilities is granted in the event that persons are involved in an anti-terrorist operation or in the implementation of measures to ensure national security and defense, to repulse and contain the armed aggression of the Russian Federation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions for a period of at least 30 calendar days, including the cumulative days of stay in the regions of its holding.

To persons who took part in the performance of combat (service) tasks in conditions of direct contact and fire contact with the enemy, in the conduct of reconnaissance activities, which is confirmed by the operational headquarters for managing the counter-terrorist operation or the Joint Operational Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (united by the command post of the joint forces), and who also received injuries, contusions, mutilations, which made it impossible for them to further perform their respective tasks (except in cases of careless handling of weapons and evading military service by self-mutilation or by simulating illness), the status of a participant in hostilities is granted regardless of the number of days of their involvement in the anti-terrorist operations or implementation of measures to ensure national security and defense, to repulse and contain the armed aggression of the Russian Federation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The following documents are the basis for granting persons the status of a participant in hostilities:

for persons who took part in the anti-terrorist operation - extracts from the orders of the head of the Anti-Terrorism Center under the SBU or his substitute, the first deputy or deputy head of the Anti-Terrorism Center under the Security Service of Ukraine on involvement in the anti-terrorist operation, extracts from the orders of the head of the operational headquarters for managing the anti-terrorist operation or his deputies or sector leaders (commanders of operational-tactical groups) on subordination to the head of the operational headquarters for managing the anti-terrorist operation in the areas of its conduct and on arrival in the areas of the anti-terrorist operation, documents on sending on a business trip to the areas of the anti-terrorist operation or other official documents, issued by state bodies, containing sufficient evidence of the person's direct participation in the implementation of the tasks of the anti-terrorist operation in the areas of its conduct;

for persons involved in an anti-terrorist operation for a period of less than 30 calendar days - also extracts from combat orders, combat orders, combat reports (combat logs, operational missions), which confirm the fact of direct collision and fire contact with the enemy, reconnaissance activities ;

for persons who have received injuries, contusions, injuries (except for cases of careless handling of weapons and evasion of military service by self-mutilation or by simulating illness) - also materials of special (official) investigations into the facts of injuries, contusions, mutilations;

notarized testimonies of at least two witnesses who, together with a person, took part in an anti-terrorist operation and received the status of a participant in hostilities or a disabled war, in the event that the subjects of the fight against terrorism confirm the fact of interaction (personally or during their stay in volunteer formations) with the Armed Forces , The Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Guard and other military formations and law enforcement agencies formed in accordance with the laws;

The decision on granting and depriving the status of a participant in hostilities is made:

commissions on consideration of materials on recognition of participants in hostilities, formed in the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the National Police, the National Guard, the SBU, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Administration of the State Border Service, the Administration of the State Special Transport Service, the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine, the State Security Directorate, the State Communications Administration, the State Service for Communications, SFS (hereinafter - the commission);

the interdepartmental commission on the consideration of materials on the recognition of participants in hostilities and the payment of one-time financial assistance in case of death (death) or disability of a volunteer and some other categories of persons in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On the status of war veterans, guarantees of their social protection", which is formed by the State service for war veterans and participants in the anti-terrorist operation - in the event of any controversial issues requiring interdepartmental settlement.

To grant the status of a participant in hostilities

commanders (chiefs) of military units (bodies, subunits) or other heads of enterprises, institutions and organizations, within a month after the completion of the tasks of the anti-terrorist operation by persons in the regions of its conduct, are obliged to submit for consideration to the commission created by the ministry, central executive body or other state body which were in charge of military units (bodies, subunits), institutions and establishments in which the indicated persons served, certificates in the form in accordance with Appendix 1 or 4 to the Procedure and documents that are the basis for granting persons the status of a participant in hostilities. If the place of permanent deployment of a military unit (body, subdivision) or enterprises, institutions and organizations are located directly in the area of ​​the anti-terrorist operation, the documents by the commanders (chiefs) or other heads of enterprises, institutions and organizations are submitted for consideration to the commission no earlier than 30 calendar days. days after the enrollment of persons in the lists of a military unit (body, subdivision) or enterprise, institution and organization or their appointment to the relevant positions.

The commissions study the documents, if necessary, hear the explanations of the persons in respect of whom they are presented, witnesses and, within a month from the date of receipt of the documents, decide on granting the status of a participant in hostilities. In the absence of grounds, the commissions return them to the military units of enterprises, institutions and organizations for the purpose of further revision.

The commissions shall inform the State Service for War Veterans and Participants of the Anti-Terrorist Operation, within a month, about persons who have been granted the status of a participant in hostilities.

The commissions submit to the interdepartmental commission documents on controversial issues that require interdepartmental settlement.

The interdepartmental commission considers the documents sent by the commissions, and, if necessary, clarifies information about the persons in respect of whom they are presented (sends the necessary inquiries, etc.), hears explanations of such persons, witnesses, representatives of state bodies and within a month from the date of receipt documents (updated information) makes a decision on granting the status of a participant in hostilities, and informs the commission about this.

If the commander (chief) of a military unit (body, subunit) or another head of an institution, institution in a commission or an interdepartmental commission fails to submit the documents necessary to grant the status of a participant in hostilities, the person may independently apply to such commissions.

In the event of a refusal to grant the status of a participant in hostilities, the issue of granting the said status to a person may be repeatedly submitted for consideration by an interdepartmental commission by decision of the head of the relevant ministry, another central executive body or other state body.

The decision of the commission can be appealed against in court.

The certificate of a participant in hostilities and a badge to persons who have been granted the status of a participant in hostilities are issued by the bodies of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Administration of the State Border Service, the Administration of the State Special Transport Service, the State Security Administration, the Administration of the State Special Communications Service, the State Service for the National Service of the Russian Federation, the State Fire Service population at the place of their registration.

Benefits for ATO participants

Healthcare benefits:

  • Free receipt of medicines, medicines, immunobiological drugs and medical devices on prescriptions of doctors
  • Priority free dental prosthetics (except for prosthetics made of precious metals)
  • Free annual provision of spa treatment or compensation for the cost of independent spa treatment.
  • Implementation of measures for free psychological rehabilitation of injured ATO participants in institutions of any form of ownership that carry out rehabilitation measures
  • Use upon retirement (regardless of the time of retirement) or change of place of work by polyclinics and hospitals to which they were assigned at the previous place of work
  • Annual medical examination and clinical examination with the involvement of the necessary specialists
  • Primary care in health care facilities, pharmacies and primary hospitalization

Benefits in the field of housing and communal services:

  • 75% discounts on payments for the use of housing (rent) within the limits provided for by the current legislation and payments for the use of utilities and liquefied cylinder gas for domestic needs within the limits of average consumption rates
  • 75% discount on the cost of fuel, including liquid fuel, within the limits established for the sale to the population, for people living in houses without central heating
  • Priority provision of living space and priority repair of residential buildings and apartments and provision of fuel
  • Obtaining a loan for the construction, reconstruction or overhaul of residential buildings, their connection to engineering networks, communications, as well as loans for the construction or purchase of country houses and landscaping of garden plots with repayment within 10 years starting from the fifth year after the end of construction
  • Priority right to join housing and construction (housing) cooperatives, cooperatives for the construction and operation of collective garages, parking lots and their maintenance, gardening associations, to purchase materials for individual construction and garden houses.

Transport benefits:

  • Free travel by all types of urban passenger transport, public motor transport in rural areas, as well as suburban rail and water transport and buses of suburban and intercity routes, including intradistrict, intra- and interregional, regardless of distance and place of residence
  • Priority registration of travel at daily railway ticket offices
  • Free travel once every two years (there and back) by rail, water, air or intercity road, regardless of the availability of a railway connection, or travel once a year (there and back) with the indicated modes of transport with a 50% discount.

Labor rights of ATO participants:

  • Payment of benefits for temporary incapacity for work ("sick leave") in the amount of 100% of the average salary, regardless of the length of service
  • Taking the next annual leave at a convenient time.
  • Additional vacation with the retention of wages for a duration of 14 calendar days a year
  • Participation in the ATO during the period is counted in the length of service, the length of service in public service on preferential terms: one month of experience (length of service) is counted for three, that is, three times.
  • Preservation of a job and average earnings for a soldier accepted into military service during a special period (until the end of the special period)
  • The preferential right to remain at work in the event of a reduction in the number or staff of employees due to changes in the organization of production and labor (under equal conditions of labor productivity and qualifications) and to employment in the event of liquidation of a legal entity.

Benefits in the field of pension and social security:

  • Pension or monthly lifelong allowance or state social assistance, which is paid in lieu of a pension, is increased by 25% of the subsistence level for persons who have lost the ability to work
  • Every year, until May 5, payment of one-time cash assistance in the amount of five minimum retirement pensions
  • Appointment of an early retirement pension after men reach 55 years of age, women - 50 years old, and with an insurance record of at least 25 years for men and at least 20 years for women
  • Monthly payment of targeted cash assistance for living in the amount of 40 UAH.
  • If the monthly amount of pension payments of a participant in the DB (taking into account allowances, increases, additional pensions, targeted monetary assistance, indexation amounts and other additional payments established by law, except for pensions for special services to Ukraine) does not reach the level of 165% of the subsistence minimum for persons who have lost their ability to work , then they pay monthly state targeted assistance to retirement in an amount that is not enough to the specified amount.

Benefits in the field of education:

  • State targeted support for obtaining vocational or higher education in state and communal educational institutions for ATO participants: full or partial payment for education at the expense of budgetary funds; preferential long-term loans for education; social scholarships; free provision of textbooks; free access to the Internet, database systems; free accommodation in the hostel.
  • Providing children of combatants with state targeted support for obtaining vocational and higher education in state and communal educational institutions
  • Preferential conditions for admission to educational institutions of ATO participants and their children
  • Food on preferential terms for children of ATO participants in the institutions of the Ministry of Education.

Tax and credit benefits:

  • Not subject to taxation with tax on personal income, pensions of people who became disabled during the ATO, as well as pensions that are provided to family members of those killed in the ATO zone.
  • Exemption from taxation by military collection of income in the form of cash security for the period of direct participation of a person in an anti-terrorist operation.
  • Benefits for the payment of real estate tax in the form of a reduction in the tax base for residential real estate owned by an individual taxpayer. Such a reduction is granted once per base tax (reporting) period (year).
  • Non-accrual of penalties, penalties before banks on loans, mortgages, etc., interest for using a loan.
  • Land tax exemption
  • The amount of annual one-time cash assistance is not included in the total monthly (annual) taxable income of the individual income tax payer.

Other benefits:

  • Extraordinary use of all communication services and extraordinary establishment of apartment telephones on preferential terms (payment in the amount of 20% of the tariffs for the cost of the main and 50% for additional work). The subscription fee for using the telephone is set at 50% of the approved tariffs
  • Priority service by enterprises, institutions and organizations of consumer services, catering, housing and communal services, intercity transport
  • Unscheduled placement in social welfare institutions, as well as for servicing by social welfare services at home
  • Exemption from compulsory civil liability insurance of owners of land vehicles on the territory of Ukraine
  • Priority allocation of land plots for individual housing construction, gardening and truck farming.
  • A 50% reduction in the rate of state duty for the issuance of passports to citizens of Ukraine for traveling abroad, documents replacing them, as well as for the exchange of these documents
  • It is allowed, during the ATO, to assign, in order to encourage the participants in this operation, the next special ranks up to colonel (captain of the 1st rank) inclusive, regardless of the position held and the length of service in the corresponding rank
  • Not accounting for the total family income of the monetary allowance of military personnel, privates and commanding officers who are directly involved in the anti-terrorist operation, at the time of its conduct, which gives the right to receive additional payments to low-income families
  • Burial, free of charge for the executor of the will of the deceased or for the person who has undertaken to bury the deceased.
  • Benefits provided by local governments and local governments.

By the end of 2017, more than 280 thousand people have the status of participants in hostilities in Ukraine. Back in June 2016, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine said that over the three years of the ATO ("anti-terrorist operation" - as the country calls the hostilities in the Donbass), about 500 servicemen have committed suicide upon their return from the combat zone. This is just one of the social problems in Ukraine associated with people returning from the conflict zone.

Oleg is a Kharkov journalist who went to fight in May 2014. In October he was wounded, under the Sands, both of his legs were broken.

“I was treated in the Dnieper. At the Mechnikov hospital. We did several operations and used expensive drugs. All this is not at public expense. Kharkiv volunteers and fellow journalists collected money for me, ”Oleg told Gazeta.Ru.

When he was discharged from the hospital, dozens of commissions had to be bypassed in order to obtain the status of a victim in the course of hostilities. “In the end, I was never paid any due compensation. They said to wait, ”says Oleg. There are many such cases. The lion's share of uniforms, weapons, payment for treatment and rehabilitation of those who fought in the ATO was financed by their relatives and volunteer funds. No compensation is foreseen at the moment.

Three years after the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, ATO veterans regularly give the Ukrainian media not the most positive news leads. Most often we are talking about domestic conflicts. For example, in July, an incident was reported in Kherson: a group of veterans first got involved in a fight in the Chaika cafe, the police arrived at the scene of the incident, after which the former soldiers also came into conflict with the law enforcement officers.

A little earlier, a fight broke out in Kiev between a minibus driver and an ATO veteran. The driver did not want to give the former volunteer a ride for free. A fight ensued, as a result of which the ATO veteran was stabbed.

Such situations are now the norm for Ukraine. Instead of reverence, respect and material benefits, the "heroes of the ATO" received injuries, unemployment and economic insecurity after returning from the battlefield.

At the beginning of the year, public attention was drawn to the case of the Tornado battalion, many of whose members committed serious crimes (murder, kidnapping, sexual violence) between 2014 and 2015.

The factor of unpredictability emanating from former volunteers remains an important political problem for the current Kiev government.

The protracted blockade of railways from Ukraine to Donbass (despite numerous calls from Kiev) and the recent clashes with the police in front of the building under the slogans of the "Maidan" of the ex-governor of the Odessa region and the former president of Georgia demonstrate that the president does not have enough influence to control tens of thousands of former ATO fighters ... Many of them are ready for radical action the more willingly, the clearer it becomes to them that the country's authorities still cannot provide them with social and economic guarantees.

Waves of mobilization

As part of the six waves of mobilization in Ukraine that took place in 2014-2015, 210 thousand people were called up for military service, every sixth of them was registered as a volunteer. Three waves were conducted in 2014, and three more in 2015. Those called up within the fourth wave changed those called up into the first wave, the fifth changed the second, and the sixth - the third. The rotation period was about a year.

Beginning with the third wave of mobilization, those who were liable for military service, who had not previously served and did not have any military experience, fell under it. They underwent training for a month, after which many went to the ATO zone. Today in the ATO zone there are soldiers who were called up during the fifth mobilization. They should have been returned by now, but there is a possibility that they will stay much longer than planned.

According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in November 2016, 2,145 servicemen were killed in the ATO zone, non-combat losses amounted to 487 soldiers, and 7,091 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were injured. In April 2017, President Petro Poroshenko announced that a total of 2,652 servicemen were killed in the ATO zone, and more than 420 people were wounded.

In the spring of 2014, Poroshenko personally promised everyone who wanted to go to war in Donbass, a minimum of a thousand dollars in salary, preservation of a job until returning home, benefits for utility bills, travel, payment for treatment and rehabilitation, housing, land, free education for children.

As of 2017, according to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, “servicemen serving on the line of contact are paid a monetary reward in the amount of 6 thousand hryvnias (12 thousand rubles). “In other places of deployment within the area of ​​the anti-terrorist operation, the remuneration will be 2.4 thousand hryvnia (5 thousand rubles),” said the head of the communications and press department. Previously, these amounts were 4.2 thousand and 1.2 thousand hryvnia (9 and 3 thousand rubles), respectively.

But at the beginning of 2017, according to the register of court decisions, Ukrainian courts signed about a thousand convictions for draft evasion for mobilization in accordance with Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It provides for imprisonment for a term of two to five years.

Disappearing land

One of the most attractive promises for military personnel, especially from the western regions of Ukraine, was the promise of land allocation, in the amount of up to 2 hectares per person. Such a program was initiated by the head of the state land agency Sergei Rudik back in 2014. According to the official website of Sergei Rudik, it was planned to use 2521 land tracts with a total area of ​​18380.2 hectares for this. According to the official procedure, anyone with the status of a participant in hostilities in the ATO zone can simply submit an application and receive such a site in any region of Ukraine. But in the end, this program did not work.

The ATO participants are not given out plots under formal pretexts or given out on the territory of landfills, and the best plots go into the ownership of representatives of the authorities and the owners of fake IDs of participants in hostilities.

For example, the mayor of Kiev and concurrently the head of the Association of Ukrainian Cities said that there are more than 23 thousand ATO participants in Kiev. To allocate plots of land assigned to them by law, it is necessary to find almost 3 thousand hectares of land. However, according to Klitschko, there is not so much free land in the capital.

A similar situation has developed in other regional centers. The Association of Cities sees two ways out of the situation. They want to offer ATO participants the payment of the cash equivalent of a land plot, and if a person insists on receiving an allotment, they want to allocate land from the state register of free land plots. They want to include territories outside the settlements in this register. At the same time, experts have big questions about the reliability of the assessment of the real value of land plots. Most likely, they will simply try to buy off the servicemen at the lowest price.

For two and a half years, less than a hundred families of Kievites who died in the war received the promised land plots, the journalists found out. This is less than half of those who did not return from the battles in the Donbass.

Meanwhile, out of more than 18 thousand survivors of the ATO, not a single one received a plot - except for the mother of the now People's Deputy Nadezhda Savchenko. Moreover, Savchenko Sr. refused a hundred square meters on the outskirts of Kiev, and then the mayor's office offered her an alternative site in the prestigious Goloseevsky district: the attention of the press to the authorities could not be ignored.

If in the central and western regions of the country the issuance of land plots is slowed down due to documentary red tape, then in the eastern regions representatives of local authorities openly declare that they do not want to see ATO veterans. They are not called heroes here.

Such cases have repeatedly occurred in Kharkov, Poltava, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye regions. The self-proclaimed people's republics are not openly supported here, but their problems are understood and known about the course of the Donbas conflict more than in the Ukrainian west.

In mid-July, ATO participants blocked the Kiev-Chop highway in the Zhytomyr region. So they decided to draw attention to the problem of land allocation. The activists demanded from the State Geocadastre to unblock the process of issuing allotments to ATO participants.

About 500 people interfered with the passage of vehicles near the village of Levkov during the day. There is a traffic jam on the road. According to the protesters themselves, they are unhappy with the systemic refusals of the State Geocadastre to issue land to the ATO participants.

“The issuance of land and paperwork have been completely stopped. All this lies in the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 413 of 06/07/2017, where the "kings" themselves decided not to give out land to people. Some ten people want to decide for the whole of Ukraine. Receiving land is a constitutional human right, but the president and prime minister decided that they were kings here, ”the deputy chairman of the Atoshnik public organization said at the time.

According to him, now there is a "warning action", but "the guys already want blood and circuses." However, there is no hope that the Ukrainian authorities will hear these warnings. The President of Ukraine and his team are now more concerned about the protests in the center of Kiev than about the problems of the people they sent to the conflict zone.

"Not all ATO participants are participants in hostilities"

Recently, in connection with the anti-terrorist operation in the east of Ukraine, there has been considerable excitement and "legal confusion" around the issue of obtaining the status and benefits of a participant in hostilities by the citizens of Ukraine who participate in the ATO. In this article, we will reveal the main legal aspects of this issue.

This issue was fundamentally resolved on July 1, 2014, when the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine“ On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection ”came into effect.

According to the rule of the Law a participant in hostilities a soldier (reservist, liable for military service), an employee, an ordinary employee and commanding staff of law enforcement agencies, specialized security services of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, employees of institutions, enterprises that took part and were DIRECTLY in the ATO zone.

In order to take into account the personnel of those who take part in the ATO, the commander of the military unit issues an order to send a person to the area of ​​the ATO. All information about a soldier's participation in the ATO is entered into his personal file and military ID, which is certified by the official seal of the commander of the military unit.

Certificates confirming participation in ATO hostilities are issued to such participants by the relevant personnel department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Main Personnel Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and regional military registration and enlistment offices.

If desired, relatives can contact the military registration and enlistment office to obtain a certificate of attachment of a soldier to a specific military unit, because during the call, orders are issued for each person.

"The law" On social and legal protection of servicemen and members of their families "establishes benefits for all ATO participants"

However, as practice shows, today a situation has arisen when military commissars or high command refuse to provide the relevant documents that certify the location of specific servicemen who are actually participating in the anti-terrorist operation in the east or indicate another place of their deployment, which goes beyond geographical the boundaries of the implementation of the ATO.

In addition, the legislator omitted an important "legal nuance" when he made the appropriate amendments to Article 6 of the Law, without recalling in the corresponding list volunteer formations, which, for example, is the "Aydar" battalion. The Ministry of Defense notes that the members of these battalions independently made a decision to participate in the anti-terrorist operation and are listed as volunteers.

Benefits for ATO combatants

Obtaining the status of a “participant in hostilities” is a very profitable business, as it leads to the receipt of significant benefits. After all, it is not for nothing that from 2000 to 2012, more than 400 officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs received this status for “participation” in peacekeeping missions, for example, in Kosovo, although in fact they stayed there only one day and then as part of a delegation, that is, in fact, they were on excursions ...

As a rule, after such a one-day trip, the members of the delegation submitted a report on the recognition of themselves and granting themselves the status of a “participant in hostilities”. To make it more plausible, the pseudo-warriors attached a certificate to the report that they had participated in a special operation against smugglers.

Such certificates were certified "by direct order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs from above", and then the Commission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the consideration of such issues assigned similar statuses.

So what are the benefits of combatants?

Benefits for combatants ATO, each of which received the status, are directly established by the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine“ On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Members of Their Families ”. According to the Law, the service of ATO participants is counted in their work experience, insurance experience, work experience in their specialty, and civil service experience. In addition, as we wrote earlier, quite recently the state initiated a program to promote (how to get them, read the link).

The law also states that family members of military personnel who serve in a special period in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On the Defense of Ukraine" can receive payments of cash support for ATO participants, if the participants themselves cannot receive them due to the conduct of hostilities (clause 6, Art 9 of the Law).

Despite the support of the Ukrainian people and the government for such encouragement of participants in the ATO hostilities, there remains another, but no less important question for society, how many "fake" ATO soldiers will receive such a proud status?

On the benefits of participants in the ATO hostilities on the video:

According to Shark,

More than a year after the outbreak of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, only 20% of ATO participants were able to officially receive the appropriate status.

According to the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, to date, only 39 thousand servicemen have received the status of a participant in hostilities. It should be admitted that both servicemen of the units deployed in the ATO zone and those already demobilized face problems when registering the status of a participant in the ATO. The former need to somehow find themselves on free land in order to formalize their status, while the latter are sometimes offered by the commissariats to go to the ATO zone again in order to get there some missing certificate or signature.

The Krug Charitable Foundation and the Yuridicheskaya Sotnya have developed a manual, in which they described a step-by-step algorithm for formalizing the official status of an ATO participant.

So, who has the right to the status of ATO participant

Servicemen (reservists, liable for military service) and employees of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, the SBU, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the State Border Service, the State Special Transport Service, privates and commanding officers, military personnel, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Security Directorate, the State Special Communications Service, the State Emergency Service of the military, the State Police Service independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and took a direct part in the anti-terrorist operation, ensured its implementation, being directly in the areas of the ATO, as well as employees of enterprises, institutions and organizations that were involved and took direct part in the counter-terrorist operation in the areas of its conduct, are recognized participants in hostilities (clause 19 of part one of article 6 of the Law of Ukraine "On the status of war veterans, guarantees of their social protection".

How to get the status and ID of a participant in hostilities

The procedure for granting the status of a participant in hostilities to ATO participants is determined in the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of August 20, 2014 N413. According to the Procedure, there are two ways to obtain the above status - automatic and independent.

The first assumes that the commander (chief) of a military unit (body, subdivision) or another head of an institution (institution), within a month after the persons have completed the tasks of the anti-terrorist operation in the regions of its conduct, must submit for consideration the departmental commissions created under the above ministries and departments , certificates and documents that are the basis for granting persons the status of a participant in hostilities.

In addition, the commander of a military unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is obliged to submit a list of servicemen who took part in the ATO to the Department of Personnel Policy of the Ministry of Defense in written and electronic form.

If the commander (chief) of a military unit (body, subunit) or another head of an institution, institution does not give documents, then the ATO participant can on one's own submit documents to the departmental commission created under the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Emergency Service, State Fire Service, SDSU, Derzhspetsz "language, Security Service of Ukraine, SZRU State Fire Service.

Departmental commission checks documents;

In case of inaccuracies, the documents are returned for revision;

The departmental commission transfers the checked package of documents to the interdepartmental commission;

The interdepartmental commission within 1 month makes a decision on granting the status of a participant in hostilities and transfers it to the appropriate division of personnel policy of the Personnel Policy Department of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Administration of the State Border Service, the Administration of the State Service for Special Transport Service, the State Security Administration, the Administration of the State Special Communications Service, the State Emergency Service, SPS, and the social protection authorities at the place of registration of the applicant will organize the issuance of certificates of a participant in hostilities, badges and coupons for the right to receive travel tickets with a 50 percent discount on their cost.

Refusal of the commander (chief) to issue a certificate

A certificate of participation in the ATO and copies of all documents certifying stay and participation in the ATO can only be certified by the commander.

If the commander does not want to issue a certificate or submit documents to the military commission, you need to:

1. Apply to him in writing with a request to indicate the reasons for the refusal. Be sure to require a written response. In the case of using postal services, issue a request from the commander in a valuable letter with a receipt acknowledgment.

2. Contact the hotline of the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If possible, you should find the contacts of the head of the corresponding headquarters of the operational command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (for example, the head of the operational command North, East), to whom the battalion is subordinate, and complain about such a commander.

These actions should be an incentive for the commander to draw up the relevant documents.

In order to confirm the fact:

Forwarding the documents by the commander to obtain the status of an ATO participant, you need to send a request with the requirement to provide a written answer when the documents were sent, or if there are reasons why they were not sent.

The receipt by the departmental or interdepartmental commission of documents, as well as receipt of information on the results of the consideration of the case by the commission and the decision taken, must be sent to them in written requests.

To confirm the direction of these requests, it is recommended to send them by registered or valuable letters. In letters, indicate the requirement to provide a written response to the address indicated by the sender.

Documents required to obtain ATO participant status

For military personnel:

Documents on the direct involvement in the implementation of the tasks of the anti-terrorist operation in the areas of its conduct, on the direction (arrival) on a business trip to the areas of the ATO, and stay in such areas (extracts from orders, directives, orders, business trip certificates, combat logs, combat reports, dislocations, books, orders, service schedules, reports, summaries, dispatches, materials of special (service) investigations into the facts of injuries);

For attracted employees of enterprises, institutions, organizations:

Documents on the direct involvement in the implementation of the tasks of the anti-terrorist operation in the areas of its conduct or documents on the direction (arrival) on a business trip for direct participation in the ATO in the areas of its conduct (extracts from orders, orders, certificates, order books, materials of special (official) investigations on facts of injuries), as well as documents that were the basis for the decision by the heads of enterprises, institutions, organizations to send persons on such business trips.

For self-confirmation of participation in ATU, it is also better to have:

Help from a combatant (it seems in the combat unit);

Extract from the order of the military unit on being on the lists of the unit and performing tasks in the ATO zone (issued in the combat unit);

A seal on a military ID (put in a combat unit in some brigades).

Additional documents to prove participation in the ATO:

Certificate of participation in the ATO (standard form!);

Certificate of attachment to a military unit;

Medical documents (VVK, epicrisis of military hospitals);

Copies of certificates (if any);

Copies of documents confirming injuries (if any).

In addition, along with all documents, you must provide written consent (with a personal signature!) For the processing of personal data

All copies of documents must be certified by the signature of the commander (chief) of a military unit (body, subdivision), institution, institution and be sealed with the official seal.

Participants of the anti-terrorist operation, dismissed from military service, submit documents through the commissions of the regional military commissariats and the city military commissariat of the city of Kiev. To avoid an erroneous spelling of the last name, first name and patronymic, it is also advisable to provide a copy of the first page of the passport of a citizen of Ukraine.

in case of refusal to grant the status of a participant in hostilities, this issue may be repeatedly submitted for consideration by an interdepartmental commission by decision of the Minister of Social Policy. In case of refusal to grant the status of a participant in hostilities, the decision can be appealed in court.