President announces draft law on rehabilitation of freed prisoners of war

This was announced by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in his evening video address, according to Ukrinform.

"A bill is also being drafted that ensures protection and proper recovery after captivity. It concerns illnesses acquired during captivity. Therefore, it is only fair that assistance be equivalent to that provided for illnesses acquired while serving in the Defense Forces," Zelensky emphasized.

He added that on Friday, a meeting was held with his participation, following up on the earlier discussion with recently released Ukrainian prisoners of war.

"Also today, I held a session summarizing the results of a meeting with our people who were released from Russian captivity. That meeting took place on Monday. It was very-very substantive; many issues were raised: post-captivity rehabilitation, guarantee of all rights, restoration of documents, and social reintegration. A very sensitive matter is the return of civilians from captivity," the President noted.

He stressed that during the August 1 meeting, Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak reported on the decisions already developed by the Coordination Headquarters.

"Ihor Klymenko reported on the rehabilitation of former prisoners. Kyrylo Budanov reported on preparations for new exchanges – I hope that all of this will be successful and that we will implement it all," Zelensky added.

As reported by Ukrinform, President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier tasked relevant institutions with developing a set of legislative initiatives aimed at granting greater rights and opportunities to individuals released from Russian captivity.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has returned 5,857 people from captivity, and an additional 555 outside of formal exchanges.

Photo: Office of the President