President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Military Ombudsman Olha Reshetylova

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Military Ombudsman Olha Reshetylova (Kobylynska).

During the meeting, Olha Reshetylova presented the results of the Military Ombudsman’s Office. She reported that in its first four months of operation, the Office had processed over 8,000 complaints and restored the rights of thousands of service members. The largest number of complaints concern medical treatment and referrals to military medical commissions.

The Military Ombudsman discussed with the President the transparency of pay calculations, the need for standardized criteria for recording additional payments, and improvements to financial document management.

Among the priorities of the Office of the Military Ombudsman is the development of infrastructure to protect the rights of foreign citizens and stateless persons serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Office conducted a comprehensive study on this topic and presented its findings.

Olha Reshetylova reported on systematic violations of service members’ rights in certain units. She emphasized that it is important for commanders not to conceal these issues, but rather to address them and collaborate with the Office of the Military Ombudsman.

They also discussed the Office’s cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, and other components of the security and defense sector. Olha Reshetylova noted that the Office is developing an analytical center to study the root causes of rights violations and provide relevant data to military authorities for use in decision-making.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy endorsed holding the first International Forum of Military Ombudsmen in Kyiv. Ukraine has unique experience in developing a system to protect the rights of military personnel during a full-scale war and is ready to share its best practices with partners.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine