Meeting the Needs and Requests of a Significant Part of the Population — the Main Challenge for the Veteran Policy of the Bashtanka Community

Publication date: May 1, 2025

Author: Yuliia Bilyk, Communications Manager at the Legal Development Network

The Bashtanka Community of the Mykolaiv Region is one of the six communities participating in the Vidnova project and one of three that, in collaboration with project experts, developed a veteran policy program for 2025–2030. The adoption of the program was preceded by a comprehensive study of the community’s needs and capacity for developing and implementing strategic and recovery plans during wartime, as well as a sociological survey that identified a number of pressing needs and problems faced by citizens, including veterans and their families. This article highlights the key findings of the survey that are important to consider when implementing decisions within the community.

A total of 370 residents from eight towns and villages participated in the sociological survey conducted in the Bashtanka Territorial Community during December 2024. Interviewers conducted face-to-face interviews with 352 residents using a questionnaire programmed for mobile devices, while 18 respondents completed the questionnaire online.

The largest share of respondents — 225 people — completed the questionnaire designed for families of service members who were killed, taken prisoner, missing, or who are veterans. The survey revealed that within one family there could be several participants in combat operations, either with the same or with different statuses. Another 124 people completed the questionnaire for community residents who are not veterans or close relatives of combatants. Some veterans and family members of combatants also completed the general community resident questionnaire; their responses are compared below with those of civilians. 21 people participated in the survey as veterans (two women and nineteen men). Among the veterans, the peaks of their military service occurred during 2014–2015 and in 2022. Of the veterans surveyed, 45% participated in the Russian-Ukrainian war during the ATO/JFO period, 35% after the full-scale invasion, and 20% during both phases of the war.

“The Bashtanka Community is located close to the front line. The security situation here is completely different compared to the two other communities that studied veteran policy under the Vidnova project — the Kolomyia and Tlumach communities in the Ivano-Frankivsk Region. What is equally important in the context of veteran policy, as we found during the study, is that the Bashtanka Community experienced more intensive mobilization. Almost everyone interviewed by the team on the first day of the survey was either a family member of a combatant or a veteran. There may have been specific reasons why people from this particular group of citizens were more motivated to participate in the survey, but in any case, recruiting both of these groups was much easier for the team here than it was in the western communities. This indicates that veteran policy issues are extremely urgent for the Bashtanka Community, as many people are likely to return as veterans and will require support,” emphasized Maryna Shpiker, sociologist and coordinator of the comprehensive research teams.

Support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine Is a Higher Priority for Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families

Assistance to the Armed Forces tops the list of areas where the community should allocate funds, according to the survey participants. Overall, 53% of respondents prioritized this area: 48% among civilians and 84% among combatants and their family members. The second most important community priority, according to respondents, was the repair of utility networks and housing stock. This area of funding was supported by 40% of respondents overall: 44% among civilians and 16% among combatants and their families.

As we can see, there is a significant difference in priorities between civilian residents of the community and combatants and their families. Civilians assign less importance to defense and security and are more focused on infrastructure issues. What all respondent groups share is the relatively low prioritization of funding for the development of culture, sports, tourism, leisure, social protection, alternative energy, the economy, and the environment.

“It seemed that people — especially those who do not have combatants among their close relatives — are mainly focused on their own survival, on their lives, and on the problems that the war has brought into their lives,” explained Maryna Shpiker, sociologist and coordinator of the comprehensive research teams.

Families of Service Members Are Less Concerned About Protecting Themselves and Their Property from the War

Only 4% of respondents consider themselves fully capable of influencing what happens in the Bashtanka Community. In contrast, 75% believe they have no influence in the community. The most pessimistic indicator was among civilian residents: 81% reported that they were unable to influence community life. Combatants and their families were more optimistic: 31% and 47%, respectively, said they had influence. They were significantly less likely than ordinary civilians to categorically answer “no” but were more likely to respond ambiguously.

The sociological survey confirmed the expectedly low level of perceived safety among all respondent groups in the community. Only 2% of respondents confidently agreed that they felt safe, and a total of 13% reported feeling safe. Meanwhile, 44% of respondents indicated that they rather did not feel safe, and another 43% said they did not feel protected at all.

The main concerns for civilian residents of the Bashtanka Community are the war and financial situation:

• protecting life, health, and property from wartime threats (66%);
• availability of funds or income stability to meet the basic needs of the respondent and their family (52%).

In third place was concern about housing conditions, particularly access to electricity, heating, other basic amenities, and the maintenance of homes (29%). In addition, nearly one in five civilian respondents expressed concern about access to adequate medical care.

“Especially in small villages, we observed major problems with transportation and the very poor condition of roads. This affects all spheres of life in the community, including the sense of safety and concern over the lack of timely and quality medical care. People say: there are not enough doctors, it is impossible to leave Bashtanka, and it is difficult to reach Mykolaiv,” noted Iryna Shaptala, a specialist in organizing sociological surveys for the development of local strategic planning documents in territorial communities of the Mykolaiv Region under the Vidnova project.

The main concerns of families of combatants are similar to those of other community residents, with slight variations in the figures:

• protecting life, health, and property from wartime threats (72%);
• availability of funds or income stability to meet the basic needs of the respondent and their family (31%);
• housing conditions, particularly access to electricity, heating, other basic amenities, and the maintenance of homes (25%).

All categories of citizens are concerned about protecting themselves and their property from the war. However, families of service members are slightly less concerned about this issue than others.

“Perhaps families of service members rely less on social benefits and pensions, as their primary source of income is the salaries of their defenders (78% according to the survey). Members of such families tend to be more self-reliant, which may reduce their overall anxiety,” commented Maryna Shpiker.

Financial issues are most pressing for families of veterans, especially compared to the families of active service members and the families of those who were killed. The same applies to education-related concerns. Housing conditions are more pressing for the families of those missing or captured, while access to information is a greater concern for the families of the deceased.

“Family members of service members are more focused on their loved ones who are in combat zones. Service members, in turn, worry about their families who are left to deal with problems on their own. Indeed, although a servicemember’s salary is often the main source of family income, much of it is spent on military needs. Veterans and their families often have to fund their post-combat medical treatment independently. Families of the missing complain about bureaucracy — the uncertainty of their situation is worsened by being sent from one authority to another,” explained Iryna Shaptala, speaking about the main concerns of the residents of the Bashtanka Community.

Community’s Willingness to Support Veterans and Families of Service Members Is Moderate — 28%

Residents of the Bashtanka Community almost unanimously agreed that traditions of honoring veterans should be introduced in the community: 94% of respondents answered affirmatively, while 6% were undecided. The proportion of undecided responses was higher among combatants and their families — 21% — which may indicate certain concerns, fears, and doubts regarding traditions of honoring veterans among this group of respondents.

The majority of community residents believe that the primary responsibility for funding measures to support veterans should lie with the state — 77%. Across all categories, 43% of combatants and 46% of civilians support a model of veteran and family social support where services for these groups are provided on a priority basis by specialists who serve all residents of the community. Interestingly, in the Kolomyia and Tlumach communities, a majority of civilians similarly support providing social support to veterans and their families on a priority basis — 44% and 50%, respectively.

Compared to the communities in the Ivano-Frankivsk Region, residents of the Bashtanka Community demonstrated a lower declared willingness to participate in supporting or assisting veterans and families of service members — 28%, according to the survey data (69% in the Kolomyia Community and 77% in the Tlumach Community). At the same time, combatants and their families were more inclined to help others, primarily the families of the fallen, captured, or missing — 48%. Among civilians, the level of willingness to support defenders and their families was twice as low — 24%. Nevertheless, the Bashtanka Community does not significantly differ from other communities in terms of the proportion of families of combatants who reported receiving help from relatives, colleagues, neighbors, or acquaintances (14% compared to 23% in the Kolomyia Community and 7% in the Tlumach Community).

“Almost all families with a defender — and the majority of respondents represent such families — provide independent support to their service members: they send equipment, food packages, weave camouflage nets, in other words, they give their all. Therefore, perhaps they no longer have the capacity or resources to do anything extra. For example, one respondent, a woman, said that her husband, son, brother, and nephew are all at war. She said that the support she provides to her relatives is enough for her, and she does not participate in any additional assistance,” explained Iryna Shaptala.

According to Maryna Shpiker, the Bashtanka Community is characterized by general exhaustion and a focus on individual survival under wartime conditions.

“In the western communities, residents declare their willingness to help, whereas in the Bashtanka Community, most either did not respond to the question about their willingness to help or did not feel that they could help others. I think this is because their life situation is such that they can barely manage their own lives,” noted Maryna Shpiker.

Respondents Have a Relatively Low Demand for Information on How to Communicate with Service Members and Veterans

According to the survey, only 19% of residents of the Bashtanka Community who do not have combatants among their close relatives expressed a need for information on how to communicate with people who have combat experience. 55% expressed no interest, and 26% gave an uncertain answer.

At the same time, family members of combatants showed greater interest: six out of ten respondents who were asked this question said they would like to know more about how to communicate with people who have combat experience. However, this trend requires further verification due to the small sample size that responded to this question.

Conclusions

In terms of the declared needs of veterans and their families in the Bashtanka Community, the most common needs are:

• material assistance (families — 20%, veterans — 33%);
• medical treatment and health recovery (families — 19%, veterans — 24%);
• psychological support (families — 19%, veterans — 19%).

The majority of surveyed veterans rated their economic situation and health condition negatively — between 0 and 5 points. The worst situation was observed regarding employment or business opportunities, psychological well-being, and opportunities for self-realization. Between 62% and 74% of veterans rated these areas between 0 and 5 points out of 10. Therefore, employment assistance, career services, and business development support are highly demanded (29%).

Families of veterans are more likely than others to require medical treatment, health recovery, employment assistance, and support with childcare. For families of the missing and captured, psychological support is the most pressing need, while families of the deceased show a higher demand for legal assistance.

Taking all this into account, as well as the fact that, according to veterans, they can meet only a minority of their needs within their community, the Bashtanka Community faces a rather difficult challenge — to achieve positive changes despite limited resources.

“There are already many veterans and their relatives in the community, and there will be even more in the future, whose needs will have to be addressed. Given that the Bashtanka Community is small and located near the front line, its top priority must be prioritization. People’s requests are similar: material assistance, medical care, employment, psychological support. Measures must be identified and implemented in response to these key needs that will produce the greatest impact with relatively lower costs,” emphasized Maryna Shpiker.

The material and sociological survey were prepared by the Legal Development Network in cooperation with the humanitarian organization People in Need and with funding from the Czech Development Agency. The opinions expressed and the interpretation of the collected information are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the donors and project partners.

Infographics — Maryna Shpiker

Related Publications:

• Unmet Needs and Tension Points in Veteran Policy of the Kolomyia Community — Findings of the Sociological Survey
• Quality Healthcare, Development of Adequate Infrastructure, and Respect for Defenders — Priorities of Veteran Policy in the Tlumach Community

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