Issues of ATO participants out of ATO zone

Fighting against the occupants in the zone of anti-terroristic operation in Donbas, Ukrainian warriors are exposed to mortal danger, but outside ATO zone they have different social problems too. The worst are bad living conditions for mobilized Ukrainian men in military units and on military training ranges. One of the last examples of such conditions was the situation with the 128^th mountainous-infantry brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces. In the autumn of 2015 mobilized soldiers of that brigade were settled on Yavoriv military training range in holed tents in the middle of pools and mud without electricity and woods. In January of 2016, the 128^th brigade’s soldiers spent three nights outdoors during frosty weather without normal nutrition on the railway station of Dobrosyn in Lviv region, waiting for their departure on Shyrokyy Lan military training range in Mykolayiv region. Then local villagers and volunteers from the city of Rava-Ruska with its mayor brought hot meals to frozen warriors. But after that accident the 128^th mountainous-infantry brigade was again settled in holed and snowbound tents on Shyrokyy Lan military training range. http://zakarpattya.net.ua/News/150873-Biitsiv-128-i-bryhady-kynuly-na-polihoni-Shyrokyi-lan-v-zanesenykh-snihom-diriavykh-nametakh-FOTO

Horrible organization of way of life on Shyrokyy Lan training range was also in the 53^rd separate mechanized brigade, what became known after pedestrian pace of its soldiers from training range to Mykolayiv Military Public Prosecutor’s Office on 8^th February 2016. The 53^rd brigade wasn’t provided with drinkable water, food, woods, toilets, bath house, medicaments were obsolete. ATO fighters had to buy eatables, water to drink and to wash, petrol for cars, woods, as also had to repair military technique for own money. Sometimes it was needed to melt snow to get drinkable water and to warm up water to wash and in 60 persons lived in the 20-person tents. Besides it warriors of the 53^rd brigade didn’t receive whole wages for January of 2016, but only the few of their salary. That’s why soldiers of the 53^rd separate mechanized brigade protested https://news.pn/ua/public/154234, and management of General Headquarters of Armed Forces of Ukraine arrived to inspect living conditions on this military training range, though even then way of life for the 53^rd brigade didn’t become better, as it was proved on the videos of volunteers and journalists of “The First National” TV-channel, who had visited Shyrokyy Lan on 10^th  February and on 12^th February 2016. Journalists saw that soldiers had still lived in the tents with mud under feet and with holes, through which rain had been wetting their mattresses. Bath house wasn't linked to communications and muddy water wasn’t useable to drink, so further militaries continued to buy pure drinking water. It’s not strange that some soldiers fell ill, living in such way of life. In the end of February court arrested commanders of the 53^rd brigade for several days in the guardhouse, but they didn’t admit with this sentence. And since 2^nd March  there is no any information about the 53^rd brigade in Ukrainian media, as if total censorship exists on this topic in the press, so it isn’t known what is the present situation on Shyrokyy Lan military training range, unfortunately.

In general it was rather often reported the deaths of military men from health issues on training ranges and in the military units during spending anti terroristic operation in 2014-2016, what can be a proof of abnormal living conditions, created for mobilized persons there. Or another reason of this mortality – military commissariats mobilize men with health problems, especially with heart diseases, what is very spread cause of deaths in the official reports.

Military men of disciplinary battalion of Armed Forces of Ukraine, where it’s served punishment for discipline breaches in the army, have also health problems and absent due medical aid, as Commissioner of High Council for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovska let know journalists on 3rd March 2016. http://www.ombudsman.gov.ua/en/all-news/pr/10316-qq-the-military-personnel-serving-sentence-in-the-only-disciplinary-batta/ Only medical assistant works in the disciplinary battalion and there is no one doctor. Sick militaries must wait own turn even for several weeks to be driven at the hospital (and 1-2 months to visit dentist), because disciplinary battalion lacks cars, petrol and convoy personnel to escort imprisoned quickly and carefully to the doctors. Moreover, 56 soldiers stayed in the 27-person building of disciplinary battalion at the moment of the examination of Ukrainian parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights.

In Ukraine lack of medical institution for physical rehabilitation and a few quantity of psychological help centres became serious problems for injured and invalid ATO participants, what decreases their chances to come back to more or less full life. And in such case disabled Ukrainian warriors certainly collide with huge employment problems, though job search issues can occur to various demobilized persons, especially when before their participation in ATO they worked in private companies. It’s also very sadly to certify, but it wasn’t put money in Ukrainian state budget-2016 for state compensations to those enterprises, institutions and organizations, which pay wages mobilized employees, so this fact generates a big risk of payments’ loss of soldiers, mobilized to the army, and further payments generally depend on decency and conscience of their employers.

Other current difficulty in the life of ATO participants is too slow process of giving them dwelling or lot of land by regional or local power for their participation in anti terroristic operation according to Ukrainian laws and it’s in spite of the growth of new buildings’ erecting in Ukraine. And defenders of Ukrainian territory frequently collide with infringement of their right of favourable free transportation in public transport, what is guaranteed in Ukrainian legislation too. So ATO warriors block the roads and organize meetings and pickets near regional administrations and city councils to attract society’s attention to these problems and let their difficulties would be solved by the authorities.

But, probably, the biggest disappointment in Ukrainian state power’s treatment to ATO fighters is sorrowful tendency to disgrace, accusation of desertion and criminal persecution soldiers in just ridiculous to such accusations situations. For example, in the end of July of 2014 year 42 soldiers of the former 51^st separate mechanized brigade, transformed and renamed later in the 14^th brigade, had been shot in ATO zone by the enemies during 10 days without possibility to defend themselves and their military technique had been burnt, they had asked for help, being surrounded by Russians, but any Ukrainian military assistance hadn’t arrive to them, so then they crossed Ukrainian-Russian state border just to save own lives from the death and found themselves in Russian country. Ukraine’s military management called them deserters and 20 of these 42 warriors, being under investigation’s pressure, have already agreed with the accusation and have got conventional terms of punishment, other 22 militaries are still fighting for their honour in the courts, not admitting the guilt. Thus, present state power criminally persecute Ukrainian defenders in the cases of their voluntarily leaving of the battle field even when it was mortal danger to stay there, instead of saving their lives and sending some military help in that accidents.