We are currently urging all Ukrainian American Veterans, and Ukrainian Americans, to contact their respective members of Congress to support the following amendment (which was passed by the Senate on September 18 by a vote of 89-8) to the still pending National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018.
“Section 1250(b) of National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114-92; 126 Stat. 1068), as amended by section 1237(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328; 130 Stat. 2495), is further amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(12) Treatment of wounded Ukraine soldiers in the United States in medical treatment facilities through the Secretarial Designee Program, including transportation, lodging, meals and other appropriate non-medical support in connection with such treatment, as well as education and training for Ukrainian healthcare specialists such that they can provide continuing care and rehabilitation services for wounded Ukrainian soldiers.”
This provision is important because it will pay for treatment, per diems and other expenses associated with Ukrainian soldiers’ medical treatment. That this provision came to be merits sharing the actions of UAV members.
Initially, Ihor Rudko, UAV Connecticut Department commander, Walter Kovbasniuk, UAV Post 17 (Whippany/Passaic, N.J.) commander, and Michael Hrycak, UAV New Jersey Department commander, were invited by Col. Mykhaylo Kyrylenko, military advisor to the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations, to the 25th anniversary of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Day on December 20, 2016. At the reception, they discussed their interest in assisting the Ukrainian armed forces in supporting wounded Ukrainian soldiers, including getting them medical treatment. Col. Kyrylenko was interested, and we were left with the impression that wounded Ukrainian soldiers were not all arriving in the United States in coordination with their army, and, hence, the Ukrainian government.
Ihor Rudko (left) and Michael Hrycak meet Oleksandr Kosolapov at the Navy Inn in Bethesda, Md.
Subsequently, Myron Melnyk of UAV Post 33 (New Haven, Conn.) initiated an effort, through the auspices of Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), for the treatment of Ukrainian soldiers in military treatment facilities in the United States. Sen. Blumenthal had assisted in the case of the initial five Ukrainian soldiers who had been authorized by then Secretary of Defense Ash Carter to undergo treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Messrs. Melnyk, Rudko and Hrycak, and Col. Sergiy Panchenko (air attaché, Office of Military Cooperation, Embassy of Ukraine in the United States) attended a meeting with key staff at the office of Sen. Blumenthal in Washington. During that meeting, the details of the treatment of the initial group of Ukrainian soldiers in 2015 were discussed, as were the requirements for current treatment, including the procedure for medical review, first by Ukrainian medical personnel, next by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Trust Fund on Medical Rehabilitation, administered by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), which reviews options for treatment in Europe, after which those soldiers who need specialized care in U.S. medical facilities are processed through the Department of State.
The treatment at military medical treatment facilities had already been authorized, but we discussed the funding of other non-medical expenses, such as per diems for meals, housing and assistance (predominantly to assist physically as well as with language translation, usually one assistant per three soldiers). We left the meeting on a very positive note.
Following Mr. Melnyk’s efforts, on June 16 the same group, along with Oleksandr (Sasha) Kosolapov, a recovering Ukrainian soldier, who was part of the original group from two years before (his left leg was severed by a mortar round and subsequently reattached), were invited to a meeting at the Senate Armed Services Committee. We met with Sen. Blumenthal and Sen. Jack Reed’s (D-R.I.) staffers to further advocate the NDAA amendment. This meeting eventually resulted in Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) support and the amendment was passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Also on that day, Col. Panchenko arranged a meeting for us with Vadym Svyrydenko (a quadruple amputee, who was part of the initial group sent to Walter Reed), President Petro Poroshenko’s commissioner for the rehabilitation of wounded ATO veterans, and his aide, Natalia Zaretskaya, at the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America convention.
Currently, the NDAA is ready to be debated and passed in the coming months. UAV National Commander Peter Bencak and the National Executive Board of the Ukrainian American Veterans have made passage of the amendment an action item for the Ukrainian American Veterans to mobilize the entire Ukrainian American community and its supporters. Instructions on how to contact your congressman/senator and a suggested letter are on the UAV website, uavets.org, or the Ukrainian American Veterans Facebook page.
Ihor Rudko is commander of the Connecticut Department of the Ukrainian American Veterans.
Michael Hrycak, lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Army (ret.), is commander of the New Jersey Department of the Ukrainian American Veterans.