Ukraine’s Ombudsman receives over 300 appeals this year regarding payments to families of fallen defenders

Since the beginning of 2026, the Human Rights Ombudsman of Ukraine has received 326 complaints regarding the assignment and payment of one-time financial assistance to the families of fallen defenders, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets reported in a blog for LB.ua. Over eight months, the right to funds was restored for 93 family members of the fallen.

Photo credit: Ombudsman’s Office

The Ombudsman’s Office monitors the observance of the rights of veterans and their families. In 2026, the institution received 1,368 complaints from veterans, compared to 2,077 in 2025, and just 678 in 2022. One of the important issues people appeal to the institution about is the payment of one-time financial assistance to the families of the fallen.

Over the eight months of 2026, following the intervention of the Ombudsman’s Office, the right of 93 family members of the fallen was restored, based on 58 complaints about such payments.

“One such story is that of Olena, who asked for help with the assignment of one-time financial assistance for her fallen son. The woman addressed a Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centre back in June 2024, but the military unit did not provide the necessary documents for over half a year,” Lubinets said.

Following the intervention of the Ombudsman’s team, the documents were transferred, and a Defence Ministry commission decided to award the woman 15 million hryvnias.

According to Lubinets, in practice, the families of fallen defenders are forced to wait for documents from military units for half a year, and sometimes for a whole year. Not a single military unit official has been held accountable for the delays.

There are already over 2 million veterans in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, they have been increasingly appealing to the Ombudsman to protect their rights. The issues include payments, status, rehabilitation and housing. Dmytro Lubinets stated this during the presentation of a special report on the state of veteran policy.

ZMINA previously reported that last year the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights received 152,592 complaints – 3.6 times more than in 2022. The most frequent requests came from family members of prisoners of war and missing military personnel, as well as internally displaced persons.

You may also want to read: Draft Ombudsman bill strengthens institution but carries politicization risks, Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research warns

In 2025, the Ombudsman’s Secretariat received 44,783 appeals in the security and defence sector. In this sector, the institution protects the rights of active military personnel, veterans and families of prisoners of war and the missing. Last year, 2,077 appeals were received from veterans.

Stay connected with us via X, Bluesky and LinkedIn – and while you’re here, please spare five minutes to fill out our survey and tell us what you’d like to see next.