The Mykolaiv Regional Council has backed the establishment of a public institution to support veterans «Vector of Dignity»

The Mykolaiv Regional Council has backed the establishment of a municipal organisation to support veterans, called ‘Vector of Dignity’. Screenshot from the council session

In the Mykolaiv region, support has been given to the creation of the municipal institution“Vector of Dignity”, which will be dedicated to supporting veterans, serving military personnel and their families.

The decision was adopted at a session on 18 June, according to NikVesti.

Nataliia Moroz, acting head of the Department for Veterans’ Policy at the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, noted that the organisation will provide psychological and legal assistance, as well as support with employment, retraining and access to social services. Its activities will also include organising sporting, cultural and rehabilitation events for veterans and their families.

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The plan is for «Vector of Dignity» to become a coordination and resource centre for veterans’ policy in the region.

According to preliminary estimates, «Vector of Dignity» plans to have a staff of 21. The structure may include a director, a deputy director, an accounting department, a human resources officer, psychologists, lawyers, social workers, specialists in organising community events, and specialists in supporting veterans and demobilised personnel.

The estimated running costs of the organisation, including staff salaries, have been provisionally put at 3.88 million hryvnias. At the same time, the project’s developers are counting not only on funding from the regional budget, but also on attracting international donor aid and grant funding.

In the run-up to the session, the structure of the institution sparked debate in the parliamentary committees. In particular, deputy Vitalii Hamerskyi expressed the view that the administrative apparatus might be too large for the initial stage of operations, and proposed focusing primarily on specialists who would work directly with veterans. He also questioned the need for certain administrative posts, particularly additional accounting and legal roles.

He was told that the staff would be recruited gradually, so there is no clear structure at present.

The motion was put to a vote at the session without debate; 43 councillors voted in favour.

At the same time, during the session, councillors considered a candidate for the post of director of the newly established institution. War veteran Pavlo Poznanskyi, who had been held captive and undergone treatment and rehabilitation following a wound, was proposed for this post.

It was noted that in 2015, Pavlo Poznanskyi completed his studies in «Military Command (Army)» at the Faculty of Combat Operations. He qualified as a tactical-level military management officer and was awarded a bachelor’s degree with distinction.

Alongside his military education, he studied at the Faculty of Law at the Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University.

From March 2015, Pavlo Poznanskyi also served in the 36th Separate Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynskyi. During his service, he rose through the ranks from platoon commander to deputy commander of a marine infantry battalion.

In his speech, Pavlo Poznanskyi himself emphasised that «Vector of Dignity» should strengthen the development of veterans’ policy in the region and serve as a platform for dialogue between veterans, their families, the state and local communities.

«I am placing particular emphasis on involving local councillors, as they interact with veterans and their families and are aware of the situation in certain communities. We also plan to work actively with the veterans’ council, which has already been established under the regional council. I also realise that our communities are diverse and face different challenges and difficulties. Therefore, organising mobile teams to visit communities should be one of our priorities and tasks… Another area of focus is adaptive sport,» said Pavlo Poznanskyi, outlining his plans.

The councillors had no questions for him and supported his candidacy with 42 votes.

Read also the article by NikVesti about the veterans’ support centre operating in Mykolaiv: «Grants for starting a business and «all-inclusive» support at the veterans’ support centre: how Mykolaiv is helping military personnel».