President signs law guaranteeing UAH 15 million payment to families of service members who died in captivity
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Law of Ukraine No. 4546-IX dated 16.07.2025, which equates the death of a service member in captivity to death in defense of the homeland.
According to the signed law, families of service members who died in captivity during martial law will receive a one-time financial assistance (OFA) of UAH 15 million.
“This important law provides clear regulations on financial support for our defenders and their families. This is a fair recognition of their heroism and a strong step to support those who sacrificed the most in the war for Ukraine’s independence,” emphasized Minister of Defence of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
The law clearly establishes the right to assistance regardless of the cause of death in captivity. At the same time, the provision does not apply to those who voluntarily surrendered to the enemy.
“This is a just decision, as captivity represents a continuation of a combat mission,” stated Olha Reshetylova, the President’s Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Military Personnel and Their Families.
The law also increased the timeframe for payment of one-time financial assistance (OFA) to service members from three months to one year in cases of wounds or illnesses that caused partial loss of working capacity without a determination of disability. These provisions also apply to individuals discharged from military service who sustained a partial loss of working capacity due to the same causes.
In addition, the procedure for determining the amount of OFA has been revised in the event of a change in a service member’s assigned disability group. Now, the subsistence minimum of the year in which the new group is assigned is taken into account, rather than that of the year when the disability was initially established.