Popular science material by Olena Klymenko and Hulbarshyn Chepurko, Doctors of Sociological Sciences: “Problems of the social adaptation of veterans in Ukraine”

The website of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine has published a popular science material by Olena Klymenko and Hulbarshyn Chepurko, Doctors of Sociological Sciences, "Problems of the social adaptation of veterans in Ukraine".

At the end of November 2023 the Armed Forces of Ukraine had more than 880,000 service personnel. The total number of women in the Armed Forces is more than 62,000, of whom 45,587 are service personnel. At present 13,487 women defenders have the status of participants in combat operations. This is reported by the Media Platform of the Defence Forces, coordinated by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. Ukraine's whole security and defence sector comprises about a million people. According to military analysts' forecasts, if the war lasts more than three years Ukrainian society will have more than 3 million veterans, of whom about a third will have the status of participants in combat operations. These statistics underline the uniqueness of Ukraine's experience, which calls for the rapid and high-quality development of universal approaches to adapting service personnel to peaceful life.

The effect of war on society is not confined to the period of armed conflict but continues after it ends. War leaves its mark not only on the military but on the civilian population, changing their perception of reality and their attitude towards their surroundings. On returning from the war, people encounter incomprehension and apprehension from society. This is because they cannot simply become “like everyone else”, casting off the psychological and emotional consequences of war. Many of them experience a “front-line maximalism” and difficulties in adapting to changed conditions of life.

The current social problems and needs faced by participants in combat operations, by veterans and by members of their families in Ukraine are shown by the results of a study conducted from 15 to 25 January 2024 by the Ukrainian Veterans Fund, “Current needs and views of the possibilities for veterans' career and professional growth”.

The full material is here