In Service of Those Who Serve: Understanding the Capacities of Veteran Support Actors in Ukraine

February, 2026




Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine has faced an unprecedented and rapidly growing need to support veterans, women veterans, and their family members. The veteran support ecosystem has expanded quickly, driven by the efforts of civil society organizations, local communities, state institutions, and international partners. While this growth has generated innovation and responsiveness, it has also resulted in fragmentation, uneven coordination, and significant variation in quality and sustainability across regions.
This study was commissioned to provide a system-level analysis of how psychosocial support and reintegration services for veterans are currently organised, coordinated, and delivered, and to identify practical pathways for strengthening the system in the medium and long term.
The purpose of this summary is to present key findings and recommendations in a concise and accessible format for policymakers, practitioners, donors, and potential partners.

Methodology

The study is based on a qualitative, participatory research design conducted in 2024–2025. It included:

Semi-structured interviews with veteran support specialists, civil society organizations, veteran initiatives, donors, and representatives of public authorities

Focus group discussions with veterans and family members in selected regions

Mapping of coordination practices, service pathways, and institutional arrangements

A validation workshop bringing together key stakeholders to reflect on preliminary findings

Research Geography




The research covered 10 oblasts of Ukraine (Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Poltava, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, and Ternopil), as well as national-level organizations based in Kyiv, ensuring representation of both urban centers and smaller communities.

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Recommendations

Recommendations for better coordination of the veterans’ support system

    System-wide and interagency level● Establish clear interagency coordination mechanisms across the full veteran pathway based on agreed roles, interaction rules, and referral procedures, rather than new coordinating bodies.● Introduce formalised referral pathways that prevent veterans and their families from having to coordinate services independently.● Ensure proactive, accessible communication on support opportunities as a shared responsibility of the entire system.

    Public authorities (national level)● Ensure cross-sectoral coordination of veteran policy across key ministries, recognising its cross-cutting nature.● Provide stable state funding for core functions (mental health, rehabilitation, case management) to reduce dependence on donor programmes.● Develop national monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to inform policy adjustment and scaling.

    Local self-government bodies (communities and local authorities)● Develop clear local service roadmaps and operational algorithms for working with veterans and their families.● Strengthen inter-municipal cooperation and mobile service formats, particularly for small and resource-constrained communities.● Systematically involve veterans and their families in planning, feedback, and local decision-making.

    Military units, territorial recruitment, and social support centres● Ensure the systematic transfer of information at the point of discharge regarding available services and community-based support pathways.● Establish a mandatory entry point after demobilisation linking service members to local case management.

    Civil society organisations and veteran spaces● Professionalise peer-to-peer models through training of veteran mentors and alignment with referral pathways.● Strengthen networking and coalitions to facilitate joint learning, practice exchange, and coordination.

    International organisations and donors● Align veteran support programmes with national and local priorities, avoiding parallel systems.● Support coordination among donors to reduce fragmentation and the proliferation of incompatible models.

Recommendations for strengthening the institutional and professional capacities of the support system actors 

    System-wide level● Shift from short-term projects to long-term capacity development approaches, recognising reintegration as a prolonged process.● Institutionalise effective practices through standards, training programmes, and policy decisions to ensure continuity.

    Public authorities (national level)● Establish unified professional competency frameworks for specialists working with veterans and their families.● Ensure systematic access to supervision and continuous professional development as core elements of service quality.

    Local self-government bodies (communities and local authorities)● Invest in sustainable professional teams, local infrastructure, and long-term support programmes rather than one-off benefits.● Treat veteran spaces, adaptive sports, and mobile services as core reintegration tools rather than add-ons.

    Civil society organisations and veteran initiatives● Strengthen organisational sustainability through investment in teams, management capacity, and institutional memory.● Document and formalise successful practices for use in advocacy and system development.

    Frontline professionals (psychologists, social workers, veteran support specialists)● Support regular professional development focused on trauma, crisis situations, and family dynamics.● Ensure access to regular supervision as a prerequisite for quality and professional resilience.

    International organisations and donors● Invest in long-term institutional and professional capacities of local actors, not only individual projects.● Support the analytical and strategic capacity of local actors to articulate systemic needs and programme priorities.● 

Research Team

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 Natalia Harasivka

Research LeadOpen Space Works Ukraineskrow.ecapsnepo%40akvisarah

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Sasha Tselishcheva

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Oleh Ovcharenko


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Maryana Zaviyska


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 Svitlana Zuieva

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