WHY ACTIVE-DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS ARE THE FOUNDATION’S FOCUS

When people talk about supporting veterans, they usually picture someone who has already left service and returned to civilian life. But as of spring 2026, Ukraine has more than 1.8 million veterans — and most of them are still serving. This is the largest group, and at the same time, the least supported.

TWO WAYS OF LOOKING AT VETERANS’ NEEDS

We rely on two models that are already well established in the veteran community and in state policy.

Wellbeing — the combination of factors that shape a person’s quality of life: health (physical and mental), relationships (family, fellow service members, civilian circles), purpose (education, work, or other meaningful activity), material needs and security, housing and physical environment, life skills, and spirituality.

The Veteran’s Path — the sequence of stages a service member goes through: service, reserve duty, treatment, preparing for discharge, return to the community, and possible re-enlistment. Each stage carries its own set of needs within the wellbeing framework.

Together, these models show that support can’t be a one-time event, or the same for everyone. It has to match the specific stage of the path — otherwise it either misses critical moments or overwhelms the system when every need hits at once.

WHY “SERVICE ENDS, REINTEGRATION BEGINS” DOESN’T WORK

Classic veteran policy usually rests on a simple divide: a person finishes their service, and reintegration begins. In Ukraine, that divide is more complicated. As long as the war continues, service, reserve duty, and repeated transitions between military and civilian life remain a long-term part of the veteran’s path — the stages overlap rather than replace one another in sequence.

That’s why the largest group by numbers isn’t veterans who have already left service, but active-duty service members. And this is exactly where support is thinnest: based on what we’ve observed, international donors less often have the mandate or focus to support this specific category, even though it’s the largest.

A DELIBERATE CHOICE OF NICHE

The Foundation deliberately focuses on the sharpest and least funded stretches of the path: service, leaving service, and the first years of returning to the community.

That’s exactly why we’re building the Standard of Care program and its Support Service School — a tool of support for those still serving, and for the people around them who understand that world from the inside.