The Verkhovna Rada registered a draft law that proposes to:

 to grant the status of combatants to volunteers who have participated in the war against Russia since 24 February 2022, not as part of the Armed Forces and other military formations;

 to make appropriate amendments to the list of persons with war-related disabilities and families of fallen defenders.

The decision to grant combatant status is made by an interagency commission established by the Ministry of Veterans.

Persons who have suffered an injury, contusion, mutilation or disease that led to disability are assigned a disability group indefinitely and to a level higher than the criteria set by law, but not higher than Group I.

This draft law is socially important and necessary, but it contains a number of risks:

 There are no clear requirements for persons applying for the status of combatant;

 there are no requirements for persons who can testify to a volunteer's participation in the war.

For more details, see our conclusion.