The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has approved amendments to the legislation that guarantee every serviceman the right to an additional leave of 90 calendar days with full retention of financial support after being released from captivity. The relevant decision was made by the members of parliament on December 18, voting in favor of the bill with 258 votes.
This is reported by Kyiv24
New Guarantees for Former Prisoners of War
According to the updated law “On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families,” the leave is granted at the request of the serviceman who has returned from captivity and cannot be divided into parts. Additionally, withdrawal from this additional leave is only possible with the consent of the serviceman himself.
It is worth noting that previously, such leave with financial support was not provided for those servicemen who decided to resign from service after being released from captivity. The adopted changes have addressed this gap, granting the right to a 90-day leave regardless of further decisions regarding military service.
Changes Driven by the Realities of War
Anna Purtova, one of the initiators of the bill, emphasized the importance of supporting former prisoners of war who return home with serious physical and psychological injuries. She highlighted that the new provision allows servicemen to receive the deserved time for recovery regardless of their choice regarding further service.
“Unfortunately, until now, the legislation placed such individuals in a position where they had to choose: either remain in service and receive the legally guaranteed additional leave, or resign and lose this right. Today, we have corrected this injustice. Now servicemen will have the right to 90 days of leave regardless of whether they decide to continue their service or not,” she added.
According to the data from the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, as of October, there have been 69 exchanges, through which 6,235 citizens of Ukraine have returned from captivity.