On the Day of Remembrance of the defenders who died in the struggle for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with family members of fallen soldiers.

The meeting was also attended by Prime Minister Denis Shmygal, Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, government representatives, according to the presidential website.

“I want to thank you for meeting. On this tragic day, we meet with the families of the fallen defenders. I express my deep respect and gratitude to you, to all the relatives and friends of those who gave their lives for Ukraine, ”said the Head of State.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the extremely great contribution of the fallen soldiers to the preservation of the independence of our state.

“In order for children and grandchildren, the next generations to celebrate the independence and resilience of Ukraine, great people gave their lives for this,” he added..

The President stressed that such meetings should be held annually in order to understand what problems the families of the deceased defenders of Ukraine have and how the state should solve them..

In particular, during the meeting, they discussed social, pension and medical support for military families..

Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that during 2021-2022 it is necessary to resolve the issue of the queue for receiving housing for the families of the deceased participants of hostilities in the east of Ukraine and veterans.

“Our task is to close the entire queue regarding compensation for housing for the families of the victims and veterans for the rest of this year and for the next, 2022,” the Head of State said..

The meeting participants also discussed issues of legislative consolidation of the status of defenders of Ukraine. In particular, they talked about social guarantees, which need to be defined in a separate law..

The head of the Advisory Council on the Protection of the Rights of Defenders of Ukraine Alena Verbitskaya proposed, referring to Article 17 of the Constitution of Ukraine, to develop a bill that, at the legislative level, will provide the procedure and mechanism for the implementation of social benefits and guarantees from the state to the families of the deceased defenders.

Prime Minister Denis Shmygal supported this proposal and noted that in parallel with the recognition of the status of defenders and their family members, a dialogue should be held with the local authorities to fill the appropriate social package.

“The first step is to recognize the status of the defender and family members of the victims.. The second step is to start working together with the local authorities on what social packages to fill this status with, ”said Denis Shmygal.

The head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak said that the issues of social security for the defenders of Ukraine will be discussed at a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the Head of State, to which family members of Ukrainian heroes will be invited.

“At the next meeting - it will be in September - we will invite you. There will be representatives of all regions, there will be central authorities, and we will discuss all these issues (on social security), ”said Andriy Yermak.

According to the head of the President's Office, during the meeting of the Congress, family members of defenders will be able to get acquainted with representatives of local authorities and personally communicate with them..

Alena Verbitskaya, in turn, called for accelerating the implementation of the decree of the President of Ukraine No. 230/2021 dated June 11, 2021 on the creation of regional consulting centers on ensuring the rights and freedoms of Ukrainian defenders under local administrations.

“This is exactly the mechanism that can ensure the implementation of local social packages and control the quality of services provided to our defenders, and the families of the victims, and their children,” said Alena Verbitskaya.

The head of the Advisory Council on the Affairs of War Veterans, Families of the Perished (Deceased) Defenders of Ukraine Serhiy Kunitsyn said that advisory councils for the protection of the rights of veterans have been created under all regional state administrations.. They work fruitfully and began to consider all issues.