The Government will expand the scope of beneficiaries eligible for social guarantees provided to service members who sustained disabilities while defending the country and to families of fallen service members. The relevant package of draft legislation was approved at today’s Cabinet meeting.

Under the proposed amendments, the range of cases eligible for compensation under the law will be expanded to include injuries to service member’s lives or health resulting from military operations conducted between 1998 and 2007. Relevant documents in the service member’s personal file will serve as the basis for recognizing cases from this period as eligible for compensation. If such documents are unavailable, the conclusion of an interagency commission or circumstances established by a court will serve as the basis.

Under the current regulations, service members injured because of participation in military operations before January 1, 2017, and family members of fallen service members receive military pensions and supplementary payments from the state budget.

For compensation, cases occurring after January 1, 2017, the Zinpah Foundation provides compensation to service members who have acquired disabilities involving severe or profound functional limitations, as well as to the families of fallen service members.

Based on decisions of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, compensation is also paid for cases involving harm to service member’s lives or health because of military operations conducted between 2008 and 2016. In such cases, the Foundation supplements the military pension and supplementary payments provided from the state budget so that their combined amount equals the compensation payable for the same case.

The package of draft legislation will be submitted to the National Assembly in the coming period, in accordance with the established procedures.