More than 1,000 relatives of military personnel gathered for a rally on Khreshchatyk in Kyiv near the building of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. The participants of the picket, in particular, appealed to the president with a demand to veto the bill No. 13646 on strengthening social protection of military personnel and their family members. Since, in their opinion, this law may lead to the fact that missing soldiers can be equated with the dead.
The rally's slogan is “We are tired of asking – we demand!”, reports a correspondent for Suspilny.
Action of families of prisoners of war and missing persons on Khreshchatyk. Kyiv, April 6, 2026. Social News/Daria Hryhorenko
The Verkhovna Rada adopted Bill No. 13646 as a whole on February 25 of this year. It provides, in particular, for the distribution of financial assistance: for the families of the deceased – 15 million hryvnias, for the families of the missing – monthly payments of about 120 thousand hryvnias.
According to the picketers, before the adoption of this law, families received 50% of the financial support of the missing person, and in case of confirmation of death, another 15 million. Now, in case of confirmation of the death of a soldier, the funds that the family received for the missing person will be deducted from the 15 million hryvnia. And the rest of the amount will already be paid as a one-time cash benefit. This may lead to premature legal recognition of missing servicemen as missing – as dead, according to the participants of the protest.
Mother of missing soldier at rally. Kyiv, December 6, 2026. Social News/Daria Hryhorenko
“They beautifully covered it up with salaries and funds. But how will it end in my understanding and in the understanding of every mother – the military units will recognize our children, men as simply dead, there will be witnesses who were never on the position, but will confirm that he died, that he was blown to pieces and they cannot return the body,” emphasizes the mother of serviceman Yuri Yurovsky, who disappeared while performing a combat mission on October 24, 2024.
Participants in the protest of relatives of the missing. Kyiv, April 6, 2026. Social News
The picket participants also appealed to the Ministry of Defense to cancel the so-called regional pilot centers, which are engaged in the support and payments to the families of prisoners of war and missing persons. Such soldiers are excluded from the lists of military units and transferred to support centers, which are also military units. Thus, relatives are actually deprived of direct contact with the combat units where the soldier served and disappeared, the protesters say.
“No one will look for our guys anymore. If I could turn to the commanders, if I could turn to my comrades, now I can't turn to anywhere, they don't tell me anything,” shares Natalia, the wife of the missing soldier.
Action of families of prisoners of war and missing persons on Khreshchatyk. Kyiv, April 6, 2026. Social News/Daria Hryhorenko
In addition, the picketers are calling on the people's deputies to withdraw the draft law No. 14248. The document proposes to freeze a one-time cash benefit for minors due to the death of a father in the war until they reach the age of 21. The parliament believes that this will avoid the misuse of funds before the child reaches the age of majority. After all, the funds are deposited into the accounts of guardians or the mother and father.
To draw attention to the protest, participants unfurled a 300-meter flag along Khreshchatyk, on which they placed photos and names of over 30,000 missing soldiers.
During the rally, none of the government representatives came out to the families of the missing servicemen. The Public Association addressed inquiries to the Ministry of Defense and the authors of the bills.
Action of families of prisoners of war and missing persons on Khreshchatyk. Kyiv, April 6, 2026. Social News/Daria Hryhorenko
This is not the first such action. In particular, on March 6 in Kyiv, military families already protested outside the Presidential Office with similar demands.