Key points
- In 2025, over 88,000 defenders received free dental care.
- The state expanded the programme of dental prosthetics and basic dentistry for military personnel and veterans.
- The 2026 budget allocates UAH 1.1 billion to continue the programme.
- Approximately 19,000 people have already received additional primary medical services for veterans.
- The government has launched a new long-term medical care project for the most severely injured defenders.
Over 88,000 Ukrainian defenders have already taken advantage of free dental care as part of a joint programme between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the National Health Service of Ukraine. The initiative was launched in 2024 and expanded in 2025, increasing the number of available services and participating medical institutions. In the draft budget for 2026, the government has allocated UAH 1.1 billion for the programme’s continued operation.
Today, it covers two areas: dental prosthetics and routine dental care. The number of participants is growing rapidly: in 2024, more than 21,000 patients received assistance, and in 2025 alone, more than three times as many. A total of 479 institutions have joined the programme, which is one and a half times more than last year. Military personnel, combatants and people with war-related disabilities have the opportunity to undergo examinations, X-rays, receive treatment and have any type of prosthesis fitted free of charge.
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The Minister for Veterans Affairs, Natalia Kalmykova, spoke about the implementation of the programme during question time to the Government in the Verkhovna Rada. She noted that medical support for veterans goes beyond dentistry. In 2025, a separate project was launched to expand the list of services available at the primary level. Its goal is to take into account the needs related to combat experience. Veterans who have declarations with a family doctor can undergo extended examinations, receive treatment, psychological assistance and support. About 19,000 people have already taken advantage of these opportunities. Today, extended services are available in 1,106 primary care facilities.
The government has also approved a new joint project for long-term medical care for veterans who need constant support due to injuries, trauma or serious illnesses. This applies to patients with a functional status of 30 points or less on the Barthel scale. This initiative will strengthen the capacity of medical institutions to work with those who have suffered the most severe consequences of the war and require comprehensive care — medical, rehabilitation and social.
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