For Families of the Deceased

Contents

Notification of Death

If your relative served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine:

1. The military unit sends a notice to the local military office (TCRSS) and to the Main Directorate for Military Cooperation of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

2. This directorate contacts the embassy or consulate of the foreigner’s country in Ukraine.

3. The diplomatic mission searches for the family and notifies them of the death.

If your relative served in the National Guard of Ukraine:

The military unit directly contacts the diplomatic mission.

The foreigner’s embassy or consulate must contact their family. However, in some countries, other authorities handle this – for example, in Germany, the police handle the notification; in France, a special crisis center is in charge of this.

The official process may be lengthy, and sometimes the embassy may, for various reasons, refuse to notify the family. In such cases:

• The military unit may contact the foreigner’s relatives directly using the contacts provided upon enlistment

• Representatives of the unit also contact the family to return the foreigner’s personal belongings

Practical advice: When enlisting, the foreigner should provide current contact information for their relatives – this significantly speeds up the process in case of an emergency.

Burial and Repatriation Procedure

If the body of the foreigner can be visually identified, the commander of the military unit contacts the family to agree on further actions: Burial in Ukraine or repatriation of the body to the home country. At the same time, the procedure is coordinated with the embassy or consulate of the deceased’s country and a funeral service provider.

All expenses for burial or repatriation are covered by the respective unit.

If the body cannot be visually identified, a molecular genetic examination (DNA test) is first conducted to confirm the identity of the deceased. That is why it is important to submit DNA samples at an early stage.

The commander of the military unit organizes the transportation of the body to a pathology or forensic medical facility, where it is kept until a decision on burial or repatriation is made. The location of the foreigner’s body is determined by the detective (investigator) conducting the investigation into the death.

In Ukraine, a death certificate is officially issued based on medical documents.

For this document to be recognized in your country, an apostille must be placed on it – an international certification that confirms the authenticity of the document and makes it valid abroad. To do this, you need to apply to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine with a letter in Ukrainian, enclosing the original death certificate, proof of payment of the fee, and an application specifying which document is being submitted for apostille and in which country it will be used. The letter must be sent to the following address: 01001, Kyiv, 13 Horodetskoho Street

Burial in Ukraine

Before the burial of the foreigner’s body in Ukraine, the military unit coordinates the place, time, and date of the burial with the relatives.

If the family agrees to burial in Ukraine, a farewell ceremony and burial of the foreign service member or their ashes is conducted with military honors stipulated for all service members of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

Repatriation  

Repatriation of the foreigner’s body to the place of burial is carried out by a funeral service provider with which the military unit enters into a contract. The funeral service provider is responsible for preparing all documents necessary for transporting the body.

It also handles the transfer of personal belongings to the relatives.

Establishing the Status of the Family of a Deceased Veteran and Social Support

In the event of the foreigner’s death, their relatives may obtain the status of a family member of a fallen (deceased) Defender of Ukraine. This status entitles the family of the deceased foreigner to state benefits from Ukraine. To obtain this status, it is necessary to receive an official conclusion from a medical commission (VLK) confirming that the death or injury is related to the performance of military duties.

The VLK process can be initiated in three ways:

• The family submits an application through the local military office (TCRSS) to the medical commission (VLK).

• The commander of the military unit where the deceased served sends the relevant request on their own.

• A family representative in Ukraine submits an application on their behalf to the medical commission (VLK) under a notarized power of attorney.

The application must include documents that must be apostilled or certified by a Ukrainian consulate and translated into Ukrainian (however, most documents are obtained directly from the military unit where the deceased served and do not require additional certification):

• Certificate of military service or a copy of the military ID

• Certificate confirming direct participation in combat operations as part of defense of Ukraine

• Medical documents confirming injury, post-concussion syndrome, mutilation, or illness

• Certificate describing the circumstances of the injury or trauma

• Copy of the accident or death investigation report (if such an investigation was conducted)

• Documents on the circumstances of death – commander’s order regarding death, official death notification, decision to close criminal proceedings (if available)

• Copy of the medical death certificate

• Copy of the death certificate

Tip: Contact the military unit as early as possible – it is the primary issuer of most of the required documents. If the family cannot travel to Ukraine, all these steps can be carried out by a trusted person or a lawyer in Ukraine.

The status of a family member of a fallen Defender of Ukraine entitles the family of the deceased foreigner to benefits in Ukraine stipulated by the Ukrainian law for families of fallen service members.

The following family members of the foreigner may obtain this status:

• Parents of the deceased

• Husband or wife who has not remarried (regardless of whether they receive a pension)

• Children who have never had their own family

• Children who became disabled before reaching adulthood

• Children whose both parents died or went missing

• Dependents of the deceased who receive a pension due to the death (if they hold a residence permit in Ukraine)

To obtain the status, you must apply to a local government authority (local state administration – city or district), specifically to the subunit responsible for veteran policy. The application may be submitted either in person or electronically.

To obtain the status, the following set of documents must be provided:

• Death certificate or a court decision declaring a missing person deceased

• Certificate confirming the deceased’s direct participation in the defense of Ukraine (template available here)

• Conclusion of the medical commission (VLK) confirming the causal link between the injury or trauma and the death

A decision on granting the status is made within one month from the date of the documents submission.

After obtaining the status of a family member of a fallen Defender of Ukraine, the family members of the deceased foreigner are entitled to a range of state benefits, including medical, housing and utility, labor and social protection, educational, and others.

These benefits include:

• 50% discount on housing payments (within established area limits)

• 50% discount on utility services: gas, electricity, etc.

• The right to take annual leave at a time convenient for you

• Additional unpaid leave of up to 2 weeks per year

• Priority right to retain employment in case of staff redundancy

• Admission to state universities and colleges without competition for state-funded programs, etc.

All these benefits apply only within the territory of Ukraine.

One-Time Financial Assistance for Families of the Deceased

In the event a foreign service member dies during combat, their family is entitled to a one-time financial payment in the amount of UAH 15,000,000. The amount is distributed equally among all recipients.

The following persons are entitled to receive this payment:

• Children of the deceased, including adopted children, conceived during the service member’s lifetime and born after death

• Widow or widower

• Parents (if they have not been deprived of parental rights)

• Grandchildren, if their parents died before the service member

• A partner who lived with the deceased without official marriage, provided that this fact is confirmed by a court decision

The payment is not granted to:

• Citizens of Russia or Belarus, as well as persons permanently residing in these countries

• Persons convicted of treason or collaboration with the aggressor state

To receive payments:

1. Obtain a tax identification number (RNOKPP) by applying to a regional office of the State Tax Service of Ukraine in the regional capital (the list of offices is available here).

2. Open a bank account in a Ukrainian bank

3. Collect a package of documents (each document must be apostilled or certified by a Ukrainian consulate in your country and, if necessary, translated into Ukrainian)

Documents required to receive the financial assistance:

• Death certificate of the service member

• Conclusion of the medical commission (VLK) confirming the causal link between death and military service

• Certificate describing the circumstances of the injury or death

• Copy of the passport, and if applicable a certificate of name change

• A copy of the document on the registered place of residence

• Documents confirming the family relationship: Marriage certificate, birth certificates of children or of the deceased (for parents)

• Death certificate of a family member (if someone in the family has passed away)

• Document confirming family status (if the deceased was not married and/or had no children)

• Notarized power of attorney (if a family member wishes to transfer their share to another person)

• Copy of the deceased’s Ukrainian Taxpayer Identification Number (RNOKPP)

• Bank account details in IBAN format (in a Ukrainian bank)

4. Submit the documents in Ukraine

There are several options for submitting the documents:

• Option A (preferred): One of the family members personally travels to Ukraine with powers of attorney from others, obtains notarized translations of all documents into Ukrainian, submits the application, and opens a bank account.

• Option B: The family sends the full package of documents along with a power of attorney to their representative in Ukraine – a relative, lawyer, or other trusted person – who completes all procedures on their behalf.

In practice, when the documents are submitted through a representative, there may sometimes be a refusal to accept the documents. The process of obtaining a tax number, opening a bank account, and collecting all necessary documents may take quite a long time.

To process the payment, depending on the place of service, you should apply to:

• Armed Forces of Ukraine – any local military office (TCRSS)

• National Guard of Ukraine – the military unit where the deceased served, or the Financial and Economic Department of the Main Directorate of the NGU (if it is not possible to contact the military unit).