Billions Allocated for Veterans' Assistants, but the System Operates at Only 20% — What the Audit Revealed

The Accounting Chamber, based on the audit results, concluded that the introduction of the institute of the veteran assistant and the system of specialists supporting war veterans and demobilized persons was accompanied by systemic problems in planning, regulatory framework, financing, and monitoring veterans' needs. The corresponding report titled "Institute of the Veteran Assistant: Support and Reintegration of Veterans into Civilian Life" was approved on May 28.

The audit covered the years 2023–2024 and January–September 2025, and for certain issues — October–December 2025. According to the Deputy Head of the Accounting Chamber, Serhii Kliuchka, effective reintegration of veterans and demobilized servicemen is one of the most complex challenges for the state amid the full-scale war. At the same time, the audit confirmed that the implementation of the veteran assistant institute turned out to be complicated and ineffective due to a number of managerial shortcomings.

As auditors established, the experimental project to introduce the veteran assistant institute, which started in 2023 and was supposed to become the basis of the state support system for veterans, did not achieve the expected results. Further implementation in 2024–2025 of the institute of specialists supporting veterans and demobilized persons was also accompanied by numerous problems.

The need for specialists was determined without real calculations

The initiative of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs envisaged creating a system of personalized support for defenders during the transition from military service to civilian life. Veteran assistants and support specialists were to help with social protection issues, employment, obtaining medical and administrative services.

However, auditors found that the actual need for such workers was not really determined. Calculations were made using the formula of one specialist per 100 veterans, based on the total number of persons entered in the Unified State Register of War Veterans.

At the same time, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs did not introduce mechanisms for data collection to determine the actual need for specialists, did not analyze the staffing potential of communities, and did not consider their proposals.

Thus, while in 2024 the Ministry determined the need for 15 thousand specialists, the regions declared readiness to create only 1,360 positions.

As of the end of 2024, only 485 people were employed. In October 2025, about 2 thousand specialists worked in communities, while over 20% of communities did not create corresponding positions at all. Thus, the system effectively operated at about one-fifth of the planned scale.

Additionally, auditors identified shortcomings in selection procedures. Deadlines for submitting documents by candidates, conducting interviews, and employing winners were not observed. There was also the possibility to conduct selection even in the absence of a vacant position or corresponding staff unit.

Data on veterans and support needs turned out to be contradictory

According to the Unified State Register of War Veterans, at the beginning of 2025 there were about 1.5 million veterans in Ukraine. At the same time, the audit found that the register does not contain complete information about certain categories of persons entitled to support measures.

Also, the Ministry lacked proper internal control over data accuracy. Because of this, indicators regarding the number of veterans' requests significantly differed depending on the reporting date.

In particular:

• as of July 3, 2025, the system contained 63.9 thousand requests;
• as of July 7 — 54.5 thousand requests;
• as of October 1 — 95.1 thousand requests.

At the same time, on the "e-Veteran" platform as of October 1, 2025, only 56.5 thousand requests were displayed, which is almost half the figure reported by the Ministry. Auditors did not receive explanations for such discrepancies.

84% of the 5.7 billion UAH subsidy was redistributed

The Accounting Chamber paid special attention to the use of budget funds.

Due to unjustified planning, the initially planned volumes of the subsidy for paying specialists supporting veterans were significantly reduced. In 2024 and during the first nine months of 2025, 84% of the subsidy, amounting to 5.7 billion UAH, was redistributed.

Despite the funding cuts, the level of fund utilization remained low. Many communities lacked sufficient staffing, organizational, and material-technical capacity to implement the program. As a result, significant budget resources remained unused.

According to auditors, this indicates a systemic mismatch between financial planning and the real readiness to implement the program.

Specialists worked without proper conditions and digital tools

The audit also confirmed the absence of unified state standards for organizing the work of veteran assistants.

Mandatory digital tools for work were not defined, and some specialists did not have personal electronic keys or access to the "e-Veteran" platform for registering requests.

The platform itself did not provide automation of reporting and was not integrated with other state registers, which caused a significant part of the work to be done manually.

Problems were also found during the inspection of working conditions. In 12 inspected municipal institutions, specialists worked in shared offices with other employees. Almost 30% of premises were not adapted for people with disabilities.

In some cases, employees used their own laptops and communication devices, creating risks for the protection of personal data and confidential information.

The Ministry of Veterans Affairs has already begun addressing some shortcomings

During the audit, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and some communities took a number of measures to improve the situation.

The Ministry reported ensuring timely distribution of the subsidy in 2026 and implementing a mechanism for its quarterly distribution. Testing of a CRM system for support specialists began in 14 regions, which should simplify the processing of veterans' requests and reporting.

Some communities also improved working conditions for specialists. In particular, the Mykolaiv City Veterans Support Center arranged a separate room for such workers, and the Tulchyn community in Vinnytsia region and the Berestyn community in Kharkiv region allocated 201.3 thousand UAH for workplace arrangements.

Based on the audit results, the Accounting Chamber recommended the Ministry of Veterans Affairs to ensure realistic staffing and financial planning, improve the regulatory framework, create a reliable system for monitoring and data collection, align budget allocation with the real capabilities of communities, and introduce mandatory standards for organizing the work of specialists supporting veterans.

The report and decisions of the Accounting Chamber will be sent to the Verkhovna Rada, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Veterans' Rights Protection, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, regional state administrations, and other involved institutions. The documents are expected to be published soon on the official website of the Accounting Chamber.

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