Reintegrating Veterans and Fostering Social Cohesion in Ukraine

GPPi is conducting a research project on the reintegration of ex-combatants in Ukraine. While the conflict in Donbas is still ongoing, there are currently about 370,000 veterans that have already returned from fighting. Their transition to civilian life is crucial for social cohesion in Ukraine. This project seeks to shed light on the social, economic and political challenges of reintegration as well as the current measures taken to support veterans in this process. The aim of the project team is to identify concrete policies for both Ukrainian state actors and external stakeholders. The project is funded by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) and will run until December 2020.

The project’s four main pillars are:

• Identification and mapping of existing reintegration processes at the state, civil society and international level through interviews with relevant stakeholders;
• Assessment of the state of reintegration and veterans’ needs through focus groups and interviews with (former) members of state and non-state security forces;
• Development of policy recommendations on how the economic, social and political reintegration of veterans in Ukraine can succeed in the coming years, including by comparing the reintegration process in Ukraine to other conflicts in the post-Soviet space and paying special attention to differences in the reintegration of male and female veterans;
• Dissemination of findings.

Read the full report in English and Ukrainian. 

For more information, please contact Julia Friedrich or Theresa Lütkefend.