By Olha Chepil | 2025-02-04

KYIV -- Ukrainians may now apply for compensation for mental anguish caused by the death of a close family member, namely civilians and service members who died after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine February 24, 2022.

The register started accepting applications on January 16.

"Many Ukrainians are applying. In the two days since the register went live, more than 400 applications have been submitted," Alena Luneva, director of advocacy at the ZMINA Center for Human Rights, headquartered in Kyiv, told Kontur.

"In Ukraine, the compensation mechanism was created quite quickly in comparison with other wars," she said.

Applications may be submitted through Diia, a Ukrainian website used by more than 20 million citizens. A deceased person's parents, partner and children, whether from a legal or common-law marriage, may apply for compensation.

"All relatives may apply," Svetlana Medvedeva, legal counsel for Misto Syly, a nonprofit volunteer organization based in Kherson, told Kontur.

"If a husband is killed, his wife may file a claim. His two adult children may file a claim, each separately. In other words, for a single deceased person, several people could apply. Because the event caused emotional distress for everyone. "

Russia will have to pay

Much remains unresolved. Even specialists on the issue do not know who will receive money for emotional pain or how much.

Allowing claims is just the first step towards creating a mechanism that will award and determine the amount of any compensation.

"The register currently processes information: it collects it, it stores it," said Luneva. "In the future, when a compensation mechanism and, of course, a compensation fund are created, the Register of Damage board will determine the amounts."

The website of the Register of Damage for Ukraine says that it has received about 13,000 claims regarding compensation for damaged or destroyed housing, totaling more than €800 million. Now, they will be joined by claims for emotional suffering.

Russia will have to pay this money -- the only question is when it will do so, said Luneva.

"The key is that the guilty party pays compensation, as has always been the case in the world," she said. "Russia must make restitution because it began the armed aggression against Ukraine."

In May 2023, the Council of Europe created the Register of Damage for Ukraine.

"By opening the process of filing claims in this category, we have taken an irreversible step towards the realization of justice for the loss and trauma inflicted on families all across Ukraine," Markiyan Klyuchkovskyi, the register's executive director, said January 16 from its headquarters in The Hague.

One of the first

The NGO Misto Syly, which is helping residents and temporarily displaced persons of Kherson province, was one of the first to file such a claim.

"It's really important to us," said Medvedeva. "I helped the wife of a volunteer killed by the Russians fill out the paperwork. He was on our team."

Medvedeva submitted documents about 47-year-old Anton Kushnir, who was born in Russia but lived in Ukraine for more than 20 years. He was a businessman in Kherson, founded several enterprises and ran a car dealership.

"We had to fully state all the circumstances of the death. We wrote whether the applicant was present during the event, the nature of the event, the place, the type of event, how the doctors recorded it..." said Medvedeva.

The applicant must provide as much information about the death as possible, including any available documentation, such as a death certificate, documents from a criminal case or other evidence.

"We collected the documents, scanned them, uploaded them and took certain preparatory steps. In total, it took about 2 hours," said Medvedeva.

Killed by a Russian sniper

When the war began, Anton became a volunteer, helping to evacuate those who wanted to leave. He returned to Kherson with food and medicine.

"We lived together for 23 years," his widow, Lyudmila, told Kontur.

On May 16, 2022, Anton was driving two women and their children in his own car along his usual route toward Mykolaiv. A Russian sniper's bullet hit Anton in the head, killing him instantly.

"I don't know why this sniper was shooting. It seems to me that they shoot just for the sake of shooting at a live target," Lyudmila said.

She learned about the tragedy from witnesses who were riding in the same column of cars. Without seeing Anton's body or receiving his remains, she left the occupied city with her children, leaving everything behind.

"We have four children. I periodically raise the topic of their dad. I try to ask or say something. But the children don't want to talk about it. The topic is entirely taboo for them. It's very difficult for them to cope with the loss of their father," said Lyudmila.

Lyudmila received her husband's body two years later.

"We haven't buried him yet, because we received his remains only in October 2024. So I don't even know what the emotional damages for this should be," she said. "We lost everything. We left our home. We left our business. We left everything behind and just drove out into an empty space."

"How can you compensate for the graduation dance that he learned with his daughter but never got to dance?" asked Lyudmila.

The register will soon begin accepting claims for more than 40 additional categories, including regarding the loss of life, torture, rape, physical injuries, forced displacement and resettlement, loss of property and income, and more, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's website.

Until the war ends, Lyudmila and other Ukrainians are learning to cope with their emotional pain on their own.

"In Ukraine there are so many deaths, so much grief, so much tragedy," said Lyudmila. "Maybe I'm experiencing the loss of my husband more easily because, you know, collective pain alleviates one's personal suffering."