Rewards for surrendered military equipment, better medical services for service members, and a ban on the church of Moscow patriarchy

Ukrainian MPs prepare for the plenary week of the Verkhovna Rada by submitting new draft bills. The most important of the proposed pieces of legislation address the following issues: support for Ukrainian service members, countermeasures against sabotage, and incentives for the enemy to surrender their equipment.

Rewards for the voluntary surrender of Russian military equipment

Draft bill # 7229 of March 30, 2022

Cosponsors: 52 MPs from different factions and groups with Fedir Venislavskyi (Servant of the People) as the first signatory.

Who is affected: service members of the Russian armed forces and other Russian military units, service members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military bodies of security and defense sectors, Ukrainian citizens, and the Cabinet.

Summary of the bill:

• allows the Armed Forces of Ukraine to pay rewards for surrendered military equipment of the occupants

• the reward for surrendered equipment can be paid to:

  • service members of the Russian armed forces and other Russian military units

  • service members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military bodies of security and defense sectors

  • Ukrainian citizens.

• the rewards for surrendered equipment:

  • $1 mln for a fighter jet

  • $500 thousand for an attack helicopter

  • $100 thousand for a tank

  • $50 thousand for an infantry fighting vehicle or armored personnel carrier, etc.

• if Russian soldiers give up their equipment, Ukraine will guarantee them the following:

  • the fact of surrendering the equipment will remain confidential

  • Ukraine will issue them new certified IDs

  • Ukraine will ensure their safety on its territory

  • they will be offered an option to emigrate to other countries.

What is right:

• Russian soldiers unwilling to fight will have additional incentive to surrender. Demoralized Russian troops will be able not to just surrender, but also to get a financial reward and emigrate to other countries

• Ukrainian citizens — primarily farmers — will be motivated to transfer the military equipment they have captured to the Armed Forces of Ukraine

• The Ukrainian Army will be reinforced by equipment captured from the enemy, including expensive equipment like tanks and aircraft. According to the media, Ukraine now has more tanks than it had before the war thanks to the captured trophies.

Free psychological help for service members

Draft bill # 7226 of March 29, 2022

Sponsor: Iryna Herashchenko (European Solidarity faction).

Who is affected: service members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military units, their families.

Summary of the bill:

• service members directly involved in fighting off the Russian aggression and maintaining national security during wartime will be able to undergo psychological and medical mental rehabilitation for free

• the draft bill allows sending such service members to medical establishments abroad if necessary

• travel costs and medical bills reimbursement will be covered by the Cabinet or the receiving country.

What is right:

• the draft bill rectifies shortcomings of current legislation on psychological rehabilitation that does not envisage free psychological aid for service members defending Ukraine against the full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation that started on February 24, 2022

• the draft bill provides better medical and social aid to service members injured in combat.

Ban on religious organizations controlled by the aggressor state

Draft bill # 7213 of March 26, 2022

Cosponsors: 7 MPs with Inna Sovsun (Holos faction) as the first signatory.

Who is affected: members of religious organizations controlled by the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Justice, and the Cabinet.

Summary of the bill:

• outlaws the activities of religious organizations that are a part of religious organizations with control centers in the aggressor state

• after such organizations are dissolved on the territory of Ukraine, their assets will be under the management of the Ukrainian Government.

Why this is important:

• the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) is under the direct control of the Russian Orthodox Church. The latter not only has not spoken against the war against Ukraine but also is directly affiliated with top officials of the aggressor state

• Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has given his blessing for Russian troops to wage war against Ukraine. At the same time, dozens of churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) were damaged as a result of shelling by Russians.

• since 2014, a number of priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) supported the aggressor state and popularized its propaganda narratives among their parishioners. Now they voice their support of the war and collaborate with the occupants.

What is right: religious proxy controlled by the Russian Federation will not be able to spread Russian propaganda among parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).

What is wrong: religious freedom and freedom of worship are guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, European Convention, and Constitution of Ukraine. Any restrictions on these freedoms have to be sufficiently justified by the state because otherwise the Constitutional Court or the European Court of Human Rights can rule that Ukraine violated its obligations.

What’s next:

• to draw a list of reasons that justify the proposed restrictions and write them out in the explanatory note of the draft bill

• or to prepare a new draft bill that will contain a preamble explaining the importance and justification of the prohibition that will be backed up by facts, courts decisions, criminal proceedings, etc.