A resident of Cherkasy has registered a petition for preferential service for those who were prisoners of war.
Pavlo Bersan, a marine who spent 992 days in Russian captivity, has registered a petition to the President of Ukraine. He requests that the preferential calculation of service years during captivity be enshrined in law, and that social benefits be provided to military personnel who have lost their health while defending the country.
A serviceman from Cherkasy, Pavlo Bersan, who had been held as a prisoner of war by Russian forces for 992 days, has turned to the President of Ukraine with a petition. He is calling for legislative changes to allow for the crediting of service years for the period he was held as a prisoner.
Pavlo Bersan is a soldier of the 36th separate brigade of marines. In April 2022, during an attempt to break through in Mariupol, he was captured by Russian forces and spent almost three years as a prisoner.
Currently, Ukrainian legislation stipulates that the period of imprisonment is counted towards service years in a one-to-one ratio. At the same time, participation in combat operations is counted with a preferential coefficient, namely: one month for every three days. The author of the petition emphasizes that this approach is unfair, as imprisonment is accompanied by daily hunger strikes, torture, exhausting pressure, and the struggle for survival.
Pavlo Bersan believes that the provision of preferential calculation of captivity time is a fair recognition by the state of the time taken from a defender who served Ukraine. He notes that the state cannot return the lost years, but it can fairly credit them towards service time.
In addition, the petition raises the issue of providing an additional compensation of 100 000 hryvnias during inpatient treatment. Currently, this provision only applies to military personnel who have sustained injuries, concussions, trauma, or disabilities. The advocate pointed out a gap in the legislation, as the term "illness" is missing from the legal acts. As a result, soldiers who have spent a long time in combat zones or in captivity and have returned with serious systemic illnesses are deprived of the right to additional compensation during treatment. Bersan proposes to legally equalize the rights of military personnel with injuries and illnesses, if the Military Medical Commission officially establishes a causal link between the illness and defense of the Fatherland.
Currently, the petition is in the process of collecting signatures and awaits consideration by the head of state.