Kyiv Simplifies Access to Benefits for Defenders and Their Families: What Was Removed from the Document List

The Kyiv City Council adopted amendments to the Procedure for Providing Additional Benefits and Guarantees to Certain Categories of Kyiv Residents under the city's targeted program "Support for Kyiv Residents — Defenders and Defenders (Female)." This was reported by the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA), as cited by RBC-Ukraine. According to Marina Khonda, Deputy Head of the KCSA for self-governance powers, the city has reviewed the list of documents that veterans and their family members are required to submit in order to receive the benefits and assistance provided under the program. "Our task is to make the procedure as simple and clear as possible," she emphasized, adding that wherever the city is able to obtain the necessary information from state registers, or where a document is not required to confirm the right to assistance, it will no longer be demanded from the individual.

Abolition of Mandatory Certificates and Replacement of the Document List

Among the key innovations is the discontinuation of the mandatory nature of certificates in forms No. 5 and No. 6, which confirm military service and participation in combat operations. Such certificates are now submitted "if available," which, according to the KCSA, simplifies the confirmation of the fact of direct participation in combat operations. In addition, instead of documents from the previously established list, a citizen may submit another document confirming the relevant fact. As an example, the administration cites an extract from the Unified State Register of War Veterans (USRV). Thus, the formal set of papers is replaced by the principle of "confirm the fact with any available document," which reduces the administrative burden on applicants.

Abolition of Annual Resubmission of Documents

The adopted amendments also eliminate the need to resubmit documents annually in order to receive the corresponding payments. As explained by the KCSA, if a person's right to a specific payment has already been confirmed, they do not need to reassemble and resubmit the same package of documents every year. This removes one of the most burdensome elements of the previous procedure — the regular "resetting" of already verified data and the repeated completion of bureaucratic steps without any change in the applicant's factual situation.

Simplification for Families of Missing Persons and the Right to Choose a Status

The changes introduced in Kyiv simplify the processing of assistance for family members of defenders (male and female) who are missing: now, to confirm the relevant status, an extract from the Unified Register of Persons Missing under Special Circumstances is sufficient. The possibility of choosing the basis for receiving additional benefits and guarantees is also provided. If a Kyiv resident has several statuses that grant the right to additional benefits and guarantees within the scope of the Procedure, the person may independently choose which of them to use for the corresponding benefits. To confirm the chosen category, the relevant certificate or an extract from the Unified State Register of War Veterans is required.

Expansion of Rights for Children and New Rehabilitation Conditions

The update to the Procedure expands the possibility of receiving certain benefits for adult children of defenders (male and female) under the age of 23, if they continue their education — receiving secondary or higher education. The conditions for the rehabilitation of children of defenders (male and female) have also been changed: now the main condition is that the child and the defender (male or female) entitled to the corresponding service must be registered in Kyiv. These points, as intended by the authors of the changes, expand the coverage of the program and make it more targeted for young members of veterans' families.

Context: The State Program for Supporting Veterans

The city-level changes fit into the broader context of state policy on supporting veterans. Previously, as noted in the materials, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to develop a new program for supporting veterans. Thus, the simplification of procedures at the level of the Kyiv City Council complements and anticipates the formation of a unified state mechanism, removing some bureaucratic barriers already now, at the municipal level. For applicants, this means that a number of benefits and payments can be processed with a smaller package of documents and without annual reconfirmation of already established rights.