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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms 
of the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0

1 Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, Ukraine (corresponding author)
E-mail: bnp1969n@gmail.com 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3030-406X 
2 Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, Ukraine
E-mail: iryna.dmytruk@nuos.edu.ua
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2228-0889 
3 Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, Ukraine
E-mail: kateryna.dubova@nuos.edu.ua 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1098-9620 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30525/2256-0742/2025-11-1-319-328

ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN DETERMINING 
THE STATUS OF PRISONERS OF WAR AND RESPONDING TO 

THREATS IN THE FIELD OF MILITARY SECURITY
Nadiia Bortnyk1, Iryna Dmytruk2, Kateryna Dubova3

Abstract. The article examines the legal status of prisoners of war in the context of military conflict. It is noted that 
in the course of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the issue of implementation and guarantees of the rights and interests of 
prisoners of war, regulation of the activities of relevant state bodies and officials, and bringing the aggressor country 
to international responsibility for their violation is particularly relevant. The authors determine that the system of 
normative legal acts of international humanitarian law defines the rights and obligations of prisoners of war, and 
the procedure for their detention by states within the framework of international obligations. It is emphasised that 
the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12.08.1949 is of particular importance in 
determining the legal status of prisoners of war in armed conflict, since this international treaty establishes rules 
and standards for the protection of prisoners of war during armed conflicts, their rights and obligations, as well as 
the obligations of the states holding them. The article formulates that the structure of the legal status of a prisoner 
of war consists of: 1) the rights of a prisoner of war (general human rights and special status rights of a prisoner of 
war), a significant part of the rights of prisoners of war is enshrined in the Convention by comparing legal situations 
with similar ones applicable to persons from the Armed Forces of the capturing state; 2) the duties of a prisoner 
of war (to obey the laws, regulations and orders in force in the armed forces of the state holding him captive, to 
disclose personal data); 3) guarantees of their implementation by the state holding the prisoner of war; 4) legal 
liability of a prisoner of war (disciplinary and criminal liability). It is noted that in case of violation of the rights of 
prisoners of war by a state that holds them in captivity, it will be responsible to the international community and 
affected persons, in particular, by decision of international tribunals or existing international judicial bodies, such a 
state is obliged to provide reparations or compensation to affected persons or states whose prisoners of war have 
suffered violations of their rights. The experience gained by modern Ukraine is invaluable, as this is the biggest 
threat after the Yalta Agreement, after the construction of the global security architecture. However, Ukraine, with 
its underdeveloped institutions, needs to study the experience of countries that have overcome threats to military 
security, and thus national security. After all, belonging to the Western community is only a declaration of its ideas 
and their enshrining in documents, and, first and foremost, thinking in Western terms. The paper analyses the 
experience of responding to and assessing threats in the field of military security of countries with a high level 
of development: Israel, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Special attention is paid to the experience of 
developing documents related to this issue: strategies, reports, profiles. The authors draw attention to the level of 
advisory support for certain procedures and the involvement of a wide range of specialists.

Keywords: prisoner of war, legal status, rights and obligations of prisoners of war, military conflict, governing 
bodies, military security response, social protection, social security of veterans.

JEL Classification: H56, К19, K39, F51, F52, H55



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1. Introduction
The study of the legal status of prisoners of war is 

important in terms of ensuring international justice, 
protecting human rights, preventing war crimes 
and maintaining humanitarian norms during armed 
conflicts. In fact, the consolidation of legal regulation 
of the status of prisoners of war at the international  
and national levels demonstrates the commitment  
of the international community to basic humanitarian 
values even in times of war, which promotes the 
principles of humanity and respect for human dignity, 
creates more effective legal mechanisms that guarantee 
the protection of prisoners of war in the new conditions  
of modern conflicts, and reduces the likelihood of 
revenge or ill-treatment of prisoners of war by the 
opposing party to the conflict. 

Ukraine's ratification of international humanitarian 
law contributed to the unification of Ukrainian 
legislation in accordance with international standards 
with a preliminary definition of the content and  
scope of international obligations in certain areas, 
not leaving aside the issue of treatment of prisoners 
of war, due to the general purpose of international 
humanitarian law is to reduce the impact and  
mitigate the consequences of war, which are often 
catastrophic and always affect all spheres of human life. 
In this regard, the law is perhaps the only mechanism 
that allows establishing restrictions, rules and norms  
of behaviour of participants in military conflicts.

However, sometimes the means and methods of 
warfare may take on a form that violates the principles 
of international humanitarian law. In other words, the 
consequences of an armed conflict can be aggravated, 
which contributes to the emergence of preconditions 
for liability for violations of international humanitarian 
law, as evidenced by the history of military conflicts 
and the work of international courts (tribunals). 
Thus, the provisions of international humanitarian 
law establish, among other things, the rules for the 
treatment of prisoners of war, defining the obligation  
of states to comply with the requirements of  
international humanitarian law and disseminate 
knowledge about it to the international community 
in order to prevent violations of fundamental human  
and civil rights and freedoms.

The purpose of this article is to provide 
a comprehensive theoretical and legal analysis of the 
problematic aspects of the legal status of prisoners 
of war, their rights and obligations and the specifics 
of bringing them to justice, taking into account the 
relevant grounds and conditions, through the prism 
of the experience of the Russian-Ukrainian armed  
conflict, and also to summarise the results of the  
analysis of the world experience in relation to threats  
in the field of military security. 

2. Analysis of Research and Publications  
on the Definition of the Status of Prisoners  
of War in the International Legal Framework

The study of the legal status of prisoners of war in 
the light of the Russian-Ukrainian war is of particular 
importance, and therefore attracts the attention of 
scholars and practitioners. In particular, the legal  
status of military personnel is studied by various  
scholars in their works.

The study by Zharovska I., Shevchuk Ya. (2023) 
explored the historical and modern retrospective 
of legal regulation of the status of prisoners of war 
in accordance with international humanitarian law. 
Kravchenko I.M. (2020) considered the legal status 
of such categories as "prisoner of war" and "civilian 
hostage" in the context of international humanitarian 
law and the Joint Forces Operation ( JFO) in eastern 
Ukraine), Madzihon N.V. (2024) considered the 
legal status of combatants and civilians in the context  
of the implementation of international humanitarian 
law in the criminal legislation of Ukraine.  
Tkachenko A.V. (2024) investigated the international 
legal status of prisoners of war as a separate aspect of 
a large-scale problem, military conflicts. Taran O.V. 
(2022) examined the legal status and responsibility  
of a prisoner of war during the period of captivity.

The issue of the legal status of military personnel 
during their captivity, the definition of their rights and 
obligations, was also studied: Buriak M., Vakulenko A., 
Vozniuk A., Harasym P., Hloviuk I., Kaplina O.,  
and others. Representatives of foreign doctrine dealt 
with these issues much more extensively, namely: 
Garikipati S., Kambhampati U., Nakib M., Repucci S., 
Slipowitz A., Zamani Y.S. and others.

For the first time at the regulatory level, the concept 
of "prisoner of war" was introduced in the Lieber 
Code, drawn up during the US Civil War (1861-1865). 
According to the provisions of this code, ‘all members 
of the armed forces, “all persons participating in 
a mass uprising of a hostile country”, as well as persons 
belonging to groups that joined the army’ had the legal 
status of prisoners of war, while persons who were 
not part of the enemy army did not receive the status 
of prisoners of war and were prosecuted as criminals 
(Ganenko, 2024).

The legal status of prisoners of war is determined 
by a number of international legal acts and norms of 
national legislation. In this study, the focus will be on 
the international legal acts ratified by Ukraine.

IV Convention relative to the Laws and Customs 
of War on Land of 18.10.1907 (IV Convention 
(1907)), Geneva Convention relative to the 
Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12.08.1949 (Geneva 
Convention (1949)), Additional Protocol to the 
Geneva Conventions of 12.08.1949, Relative to the 



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Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts  
(Protocol I) of 08.06.1977, Protocol Additional to the 
Geneva Conventions of 12.08.1949, and relating to 
the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem of 
08.12.2005, the UN Convention Against Torture, etc.

National laws and regulations in the area of  
ratification and implementation of relevant  
international treaties and establishment of the legal 
status of prisoners of war released from Russian  
captivity (The Order of the Ministry of Defence 
of Ukraine "On Approval of the Instruction on the 
Procedure for the Implementation of International 
Humanitarian Law in the Armed Forces of Ukraine" 
of 23.03.2017; The Law of Ukraine “On Military  
Duty and Military Service” (The Law of Ukraine  
“On Military Duty and Military Service”, 1992),  
the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection 
of Persons Deprived of Personal Liberty as a Result 
of Armed Aggression against Ukraine and Members 
of Their Families", the Resolution of the Cabinet 
of Ministers of Ukraine No. 296 of 15.03.2024, the 
Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine  
No. 1281 of 15.11.2022, the Resolution of the  
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 55 of 20.01.2023, 
the Regulation on the Service of Citizens of  
Ukraine in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Section XII 
(approved by Presidential Decree No. 1153/2008 of 
10.12.2008); the Instruction on the Organisation of 
the Implementation of the Regulation on the Military 
Service of Citizens of Ukraine in the Armed Forces 
of Ukraine (approved by the Order of the Minister  
of Defence of Ukraine No. 170 of 10.04.2009). 

According to international humanitarian law, the 
scope of a prisoner of war's rights outweighs his  
or her obligations, which are essentially limited to 
obeying the laws, regulations and orders in force in 
the armed forces of the state in which he or she was 
captured (Art. 82 of the Geneva Convention III), 
as well as to provide during interrogation his surname, 
name and military rank, date of birth and army, 
regimental, personal or serial number or, if not  
available, other equivalent information (Art. 17 of the 
Geneva Convention III; Geneva Convention, 1949).

Since the rights of prisoners of war are a combination 
of different types, they can be classified according 
to a number of criteria, such as personal, property,  
physical, social, economic, cultural, religious, etc.

Thus, prisoners of war have the following rights: 
the possibility of enjoying the benefits provided 
for by Geneva Convention III, despite the crime 
committed before their capture (Article 85 of Geneva  
Convention III); the right not to be deprived of the 
possibility of having their rank or insignia by the 
state in which they are held (Article 88 of the Geneva 
Convention III); rights to treatment of a prisoner  
of war after disciplinary sanctions or criminal 
punishment related to the treatment (Articles 13-16 

of the Geneva Convention III); a system of rights, 
conditions of detention, way of life, treatment  
(Articles 97-98 of the Geneva Convention III) and 
others (Geneva Convention, 1949).

Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, which began 
in February 2022, has become one of the greatest 
challenges for the Ukrainian people since World War 
II, as in 2022 Ukraine has been fighting the Russian 
occupation for 8 years. In addition to the numerous 
civilian casualties, this bloody aggression led to the 
capture of a large number of Ukrainian servicemen 
and women, including minors. The protection of the 
rights of prisoners, especially their implementation, 
conditions of detention and timely release, have  
become urgent issues that the Ukrainian authorities, 
diplomats and the international community are  
working hard to address.

The Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 provides 
for the categories of persons to be classified as  
prisoners of war (Additional Protocol, 2005).

In general, the relevant convention and its  
Additional Protocols define the rights of prisoners, 
including the prohibition of torture, inhuman 
treatment, medical care, proper conditions of  
detention and repatriation after the end of hostilities.

It can be confidently stated that Russia is constantly 
violating the provisions of international law, in 
particular with regard to the treatment of prisoners 
of war. Numerous testimonies and video evidence  
confirm cases of torture, inhumane conditions of 
detention, beatings and deprivation of life. Article 12 
of the Geneva Convention states that prisoners of  
war are under the authority of the Powers that took 
them and not of the military units or forces that carried 
out the relevant mission (Additional Protocol, 2005). 

The relevant norm is also contained in Article 4, 
Section II, Chapter IV of the Convention relative 
to the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its  
Annex, namely that prisoners of war are under the 
authority of the government of the opposing party  
and not of the individuals or units that took them 
prisoner (Additional Protocol, 2005). However, 
bringing the aggressor state to justice is a complex 
process that takes decades.

The Russian side has violated international 
norms on prisoners of war in many cases, including 
the terrorist attack in Olenivka, the shooting of  
Oleksandr Matsievskyi, the shooting of 2 prisoners 
of war near the village of Krynky, and others. 
According to the relevant reports of the Office of the 
Prosecutor General, as of April 7, 2024, more than  
27 criminal proceedings were opened regarding the 
execution of 54 Ukrainian prisoners of war (Vityuk, 
Pidgorodetsky, Lugin, 2024).

The issue of releasing Ukrainian prisoners of war 
and protecting their rights is in the focus of attention 
of leading international organisations and Ukraine's 



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partner countries. Thus, at meetings of the UN Security 
Council and sessions of the General Assembly, these 
issues were raised, and relevant resolutions were 
adopted demanding that Russia strictly comply with 
international humanitarian law.

In light of Russia's consistent provision of erroneous 
data, the precise quantity of Ukrainian servicemen 
captured and their respective locations of detention 
remain uncertain. Undoubtedly, the consolidated 
position of the international community significantly 
strengthens Ukraine's efforts to protect the rights of 
illegally detained military personnel (Shkuta, Leheza, 
Telelym, Anosienkov, 2024).

Despite the horrific conditions of captivity, the 
Ukrainian military demonstrate examples of incredible 
courage, patriotism and human dignity. Their stories 
inspire the entire Ukrainian people. The defenders 
of Mariupol, in particular the soldiers of the Azov 
Regiment, who have been fiercely resisting the Russian 
occupiers for a long time, have become a symbol  
of the indomitable Ukrainian spirit. Those who  
survived the horrors of Russian captivity tell of  
torture, cynical abuse and neglect of prisoners by the 
Russian side.

The United Nations is an international organisation 
whose purpose is to maintain and promote peace 
and international security. The report of the UN  
Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine 
focuses on the results of the survey. In particular, it is  
noted that almost every Ukrainian prisoner of war 
interviewed described torture by Russian servicemen 
during their captivity: beatings, electric shocks,  
threats of execution, prolonged exhausting body 
positions and mock executions. More than half of  
them were sexually assaulted (REPORT, 2023).

Having analysed the report, one can clearly see the 
violent actions on the part of Russia, the levelling of 
international law, respect for human life and dignity.  
It is worth noting that the activities of the International 
Committee of the Red Cross help Ukrainians to  
find their relatives in Russian captivity. At the same time, 
there is a constant attempt by the Russian Federation 
to limit the communication of the Committee's 
representatives with prisoners of war, even though  
they have a unique mandate (Vityuk, Pidgorodetsky, 
Lugin, 2024).

First of all, it is necessary to achieve an unprecedented 
level of consolidation of the international community 

Table 1
Collective research on the processes related to Ukrainian prisoners of war in the period from 2022-2024

2022 2023 2024 Total quantity (2022-2024)

Executions 
recorded 
by the UN

17

32
https://graty.me/news/misiya-

oon-zadokumentuvala-strati-32-

ukra%D1%97nskih-vijskovopolonenih-i-

prinajmni-odnu-smert-u-rosijskomu-poloni-

vid-tortur-za-czyu-zimu/

79
https://suspilne.media/939743-

v-oon-zafiksuvali-79-strat-

ukrainskih-vijskovopolonenih/

177
https://suspilne.media/939743-v-

oon-zafiksuvali-79-strat-ukrainskih-

vijskovopolonenih/

Number 
of prisoner 
of war 
exchanges

20 28 11

59 
https://armyinform.com.ua/ 

2024/12/31/u-koordshtabi-povidomyly-

skilky-ukrayincziv-povernuly-z-

rosijskogo-polonu-v-2024-roczi/

Number 
of people 
released

802

1002
https://suspilne.media/918281-u-gur-

rozpovili-skilkoh-polonenih-vdalosa-

povernuti-z-rf-u-2024-roci/

1358
https://suspilne.media/918281-u-

gur-rozpovili-skilkoh-polonenih-

vdalosa-povernuti-z-rf-u-2024-

roci/

3767
https://zmina.info/news/u-zviti-

amnesty-international-ukrane-

ne-zgaduyetsya-pro-rosijskyh-

vijskovopolonenyh-oskilky-ukrayina-ne-

porushuye-zhenevski-konvencziyi/

Number 
of missing 
persons

19 000 
https://zaborona.com/v-

ukrayini-za-2022-rik-znykly-

bezvisty-majzhe-19-000-

lyudej-shho-robyty-yakshho-

vtratyly-zvyazok-z-blyzkymy/

30 000
https://zmina.info/news/u-zviti-amnesty-

international-ukrane-ne-zgaduyetsya-pro-

rosijskyh-vijskovopolonenyh-oskilky-

ukrayina-ne-porushuye-zhenevski-

konvencziyi/

52673
https://texty.org.ua/

fragments/112543/ponad-52-

tysyachi-lyudej-u-rozshuku-

vid-pochatku-velykoyi-vijny-

doslidzhennya-textyorgua/

 More than 71,000
https://zmina.info/news/u-zviti-

amnesty-international-ukrane-

ne-zgaduyetsya-pro-rosijskyh-

vijskovopolonenyh-oskilky-ukrayina-ne-

porushuye-zhenevski-konvencziyi/

Number 
of people 
in captivity

No data available
4337
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/

c4ny94ndqp4o

13000
https://zmina.info/news/u-zviti-

amnesty-international-ukrane-

ne-zgaduyetsya-pro-rosijskyh-

vijskovopolonenyh-oskilky-

ukrayina-ne-porushuye-zhenevski-

konvencziyi/

14000
https://zmina.info/news/u-zviti-

amnesty-international-ukrane-

ne-zgaduyetsya-pro-rosijskyh-

vijskovopolonenyh-oskilky-ukrayina-ne-

porushuye-zhenevski-konvencziyi/



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around the condemnation of the crimes of the  
Russian regime through the adoption of new  
resolutions by the UN, OSCE and other influential 
international institutions. 

3. Analysis of the World Experience  
of Responding to Threats  
in the Field of Military Security

In the authors' opinion, an important task  
for Ukraine is to attract competent experts to solve 
military security problems. One can safely assert that 
Ukrainians have formed an intellectual, conscious 
civilian stratum of society that is able to offer a  
way out of the crisis and, therefore, to arm them with 
knowledge and ideas. The most important thing is to 
scale these ideas in favour of strengthening military 
security.

The vulnerability of Ukraine's military security 
sector is caused by the existence of problems, lack of 
a systematic approach, unprofessionalism of managers, 
and the priority of Soviet narratives for a long time. 

Given the power of arguments and facts, the  
study of experience is a form of such consideration 
of arguments. Experience is not created by theory,  
but only by practice. This is what gives it value (Meiko, 
Torichny, Melnychuk, 2024).

It was decided to start analysing the experience with 
the country of Israel, which resumed its existence 
just 80 years ago. It is worth noting that modern  
Israel has managed to gain the trust of countries around 
the world, primarily European ones, and become more 
pro-European than Ukraine, which is located in the 
eastern part of Europe.

In the process of forming the state, Israel turned to 
managers with military experience in its personnel 
policy. This approach is considered to be preventive, 
since a person familiar with military affairs is able 
to identify threats to both military and national  
security. Another important fact is the training and 
internships of Israeli military personnel in countries 
with a high level of development, and as a result, 
the formation of its own army model, rather than a  
template of a particular country's army.

Among the world's practices of responding to threats 
in the field of military security, the United Kingdom 
deserves special attention, as it has created a model 
of state functioning since the 19th century, which is 
now used as a basis by many high-level development 
countries (Reznikova, 2020). The UK's threat 
response is based on the interaction of a wide range of  
experts at different levels, from local to national,  
and with both horizontal and vertical links. Each level 
of response involves a comprehensive assessment of 
risks and threats, which is implemented consistently. 
Thus, it can be stated that the British approach 
to threat assessment is pragmatic and balanced.  

The manifestations of this state approach can be seen 
in the country's strategies. Ukraine does not have 
such experience, and the West is actively turning to 
strategic planning, making adjustments depending 
on the situation. Therefore, the UK's strategic  
documents provide for the preparation of an annual 
analytical report on possible threats to military 
security. To carry out such analyses, it is necessary 
to create appropriate institutions with specialists  
(Meiko, Torichny, Melnychuk, 2024).

Since 2008, the UK has maintained a National  
Civilian Risk Register, and since 2010, a National 
Security Risk Register. The document "National  
Security Risk Assessment" contains an analysis of 
threats in the field of military security with their 
gradation into short-term and long-term manifestations 
in the future. These processes were made possible 
by a substantial system of organisational support for 
threat and risk analysis: working groups, interagency 
interactions, individual institutions, co-operation 
between government and academic institutions, and so 
forth (Reznikova, 2020). Thus, the UK is implementing 
multidimensionality and multifunctionality in 
addressing the problem of assessing and responding  
to threats in the field of military security.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is characterised  
by the experience of the first revolutions in Europe,  
the authorship of Nordic humanism, the first  
economic reforms and social development crises.  
The Netherlands is an example of the implementation 
of a systemic policy, which means that the problem 
of responding to threats in the field of military 
security is a priority. As in the UK, the Netherlands is  
shaping its National Security Strategy, with regular 
planning cycles and updates. In 2014, the National 
Risk Profile, later called the National Security  
Horizon Scan, was developed for the first time.  
The characteristic features of the documents are  
analysis, modelling and presentation of all possible 
scenarios. For Ukraine, it is desirable to take into account 
not only the need to develop relevant documents, 
but also the training of a wide range of experts. 
Professionalism, competence and professionalism are 
the key requirements for threat analysts in the field  
of military security (Reznikova, 2020).

The countries with a high level of development, 
which are generally considered to be the West, were 
not prepared for the scale of the war that Russia  
waged against Ukraine. In turn, Ukraine, being in 
a state of transformation and ineffective functioning  
of state institutions, has become extremely vulnerable  
to threats in the military security environment.

An important task for Ukraine is to form its own 
security architecture, because, as noted above, the 
current one, even at the global level, is not effective. 
Ukraine's system of responding to threats in the field 
of military security will be unique, as it will combine 



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both Western and Eastern models. Such a model 
will create opportunities for timely identification  
of existing obvious threats and hidden predictable  
ones; eliminate vulnerabilities and strengthen the 
advantages of the Ukrainian state and society as a  
single organism.

According to the authors, it is also necessary to  
address the problem of tools, algorithms and 
mechanisms for assessing threats in the field of  
military security. In particular, it is about the methods 
of risk assessment, which are eclectic today, as sciences 
develop them on the verge of several, not just one.

4. Peculiarities of the Formation  
of the System of Social Protection  
and Social Security of Combatants in Ukraine

4.1. Peculiarities of the Formation  
of the Social Protection System  
for Military Personnel

Social protection in the AFU is implemented 
through the provision of social assistance, benefits 
and compensations to servicemen and their families, 
as well as other categories of citizens defined by law, 
in accordance with the current laws (Sheverdina, 
2024). This implementation of the principles and main 
directions of social policy is carried out through: the 
social protection system, which includes economic 
and legal measures guaranteed by the Constitution of 
Ukraine to provide people in difficult life situations 
with the conditions to overcome these difficulties  
and to participate equally in public life; the social 
protection system through compulsory social  
insurance and additional social assistance; social 
assistance, which includes various measures to ensure 
social protection of citizens, such as the provision of 
material assistance and social services.

When defining the concept of social security of 
servicemen and its types, it should be noted that  
there is no legislative definition of them, unlike the 
concept of social protection of servicemen. Thus, 
according to the Law, social protection of servicemen 
is an activity (function) of the state aimed at 
establishing a system of legal and social guarantees 
that ensure the exercise of constitutional rights 
and freedoms, satisfaction of material and spiritual  
needs of servicemen in accordance with the special  
type of their service activity, status in society, 
and maintenance of social stability in the military 
environment. This is the right to provide them with 
benefits in the event of full, partial or temporary 
disability, loss of the breadwinner, unemployment 
due to circumstances beyond their control, old age, 
as well as in other cases provided for by the Law  
(The Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection 
of Persons Deprived of Personal Liberty as a Result 

of Armed Aggression against Ukraine and Members 
of Their Families", 2022). The main purpose of 
social protection of military personnel is to provide 
comprehensive support to personnel and their  
families, which compensates for the restrictions 
imposed on the military in the current legislation 
and the conditions of service that are specific to this  
category of employees. 

The difference between social protection of  
servicemen and social protection of other able-
bodied citizens is that servicemen, while fulfilling 
their constitutional duty to defend the Homeland, are  
limited in a number of constitutional rights and 
freedoms. Thus, given these circumstances, it is 
necessary to take specific measures to reduce or  
prevent the negative impact of social risks on  
servicemen who, due to the nature of their service 
activities, do not have other sources of decent living 
(Bazylenko, Leniuskyi, Maslyanikova, 2024).

Stativka N.V. (Gordienko, Stativka, 2021) shares 
the opinion that the term "social security" should be 
used for military personnel and their families, while  
the term "social protection" can be applied to persons 
who have been discharged from military service and 
have lost the ability to provide for themselves and their 
families at the appropriate level. His position defines 
social security of servicemen as a system of economic 
and legal measures aimed at providing servicemen 
with an appropriate level of financial, medical, 
housing, clothing, food and other types of support by  
the state. This point of view indicates the importance  
of taking into account the peculiarities of military 
service and the needs of servicemen for social security, 
which should be appropriate to the nature of their 
service activities.

This approach involves providing the necessary 
resources to ensure their life and functioning,  
taking into account the challenges and risks associated 
with the specifics of military service (Sheverdina, 2024).

The system of material support, which Shyshliuk 
M.O. considers to be an additional type of social 
protection for servicemen, includes monetary,  
housing, clothing, medical and food support.  
This emphasises the comprehensive nature of social 
support, which should cover various aspects of the  
lives of servicemen and their families to ensure a  
full and comfortable existence, taking into account 
their service specifics and characteristics (Bazylenko, 
Leniuskyi, Maslyanikova, 2024).

These different aspects of welfare point to the 
comprehensive nature of social protection for 
servicemen and women, which covers different areas  
of their lives. 

In order to understand the problem comprehensively, 
it is necessary to examine Figure 1, which shows the 
total social security expenditures in Ukraine for the 
period 2019-2023.



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As can be seen, total social security expenditures 
have increased significantly due to economic and  
social challenges. While in 2019, expenditures 
amounted to 321.8 billion UAH, in 2023 they  
increased significantly to 514.1 billion UAH.  
The 60% increase is due to the war, demographic 
changes and inflation. The war has led to an increase in 
the number of people in need of social assistance: IDPs, 
military personnel, veterans, families of the dead and 
injured. Recently, a situation has arisen where the state,  
having legally granted military personnel a special  
social status with all the rights, is actually unable to 
ensure their full implementation (The Ministry of 
Finance of Ukraine, 2023). 

The concept of national security assigns the armed 
forces the main role in ensuring the military security 
of the country. At the same time, the armed forces  
should be able to respond adequately to threats that 
may arise, while spending rationally on national 
defence. In these circumstances, the issues of protecting 
and improving the level of satisfaction of the socio-
economic interests of military personnel and citizens 
exempt from military service and their families are of 
particular importance. The authors believe that this is 
the most important integral component of the military 
reform of Ukraine, which is currently underway,  
should meet the real problems of defence.

The main focus of such a reform should be to  
develop the capabilities of the MoD and the Armed 
Forces in line with Euro-Atlantic norms and NATO 
membership criteria. To ensure the implementation of 
this reform, it is planned to amend the laws of Ukraine 
and other regulatory acts in various areas, including 
improving legislation on strengthening the social 
protection of military personnel and their families, 
maintaining the required level of social standards for 
military service and service in the military reserve; 
bringing the level of material and other types of  
support for servicemen in line with the rights and 
freedoms established for them by law, taking into 
account the risks to their life and health, difficult  
social and living conditions of military service 
(Khoroshev, 2024).

In the developed countries of the world, the  
problems of protecting military personnel are solved 
through the complex interaction of all factors that 
provide this category with normal conditions for 
everyday life and the quality performance of their  
duties. The current system of social security and 
protection of military personnel in Ukraine is not able 
to meet modern requirements. The study of foreign 
experience can help to change the current situation  
and create a system of social security and protection 
for the armies of foreign countries for its possible 
application in the context of the military reform  
of the AFU.

4.2. Identification of the Main Problems  
of Forming a System of Social Protection  
and Social Security for Combatants

The main problem in the issue of social protection 
of combatants remains the tendency to increase the 
number of this category of persons, the uncertainty 
of strategic priorities of the state policy of their social 
protection, the need to reform privileges and material 
support. In order to activate the social protection 
system, it is necessary to identify available resources, 
structure the needs, forms and tools of social protection, 
introduce novelties and innovations, and use the 
potential of individuals to protect themselves.

Thus, in order to form an active model of social 
protection policy for combatants, one can conclude  
that the following instruments can be effective 
(Gordienko, Stativka, 2021): 

a) Ensuring the effectiveness of the new active social 
protection system;

b) identification of areas of social protection in line 
with real social needs, using the best available resources;

c) balance of powers and social responsibility, the 
essence of which is the effective division of powers  
and responsibilities between public authorities with 
a clear definition of their functions; 

d) publicity and openness, which requires the 
involvement of citizens in the formation and 
implementation of social protection policy; 

Figure 1. Total social security expenditures in Ukraine in 2019-2023 

Source: compiled on the basis of (The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, 2023)

 

321,8 354,3 386,7
474,2 514,1

0
100
200
300
400
500
600

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023



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e) psychological rehabilitation and social and  

labour adaptation; 
f) social partnership, mutually beneficial co-operation 

between state structures, business structures and  
public organisations on the basis of coordination 
of common interests, constructive interaction to 
solve urgent public economic and social problems 
(Sheverdina, 2024).

Social policy should move away from paternalism  
and towards partnership-based regulation of social 
relations. The use of new tools, innovations and 
innovations will create a flexible system of social  
stability and increase the effectiveness of social 
protection (Bazylenko, Leniuskyi, Maslyanikova, 2024).

5. Conclusions
In the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the 

issue of implementing and guaranteeing the rights and 
interests of prisoners of war, regulating the activities 
of relevant state bodies and officials, and bringing the 
aggressor country to international responsibility for 
their violations is particularly relevant. 

The system of legal acts of international  
humanitarian law defines the rights and obligations 
of prisoners of war and the procedure for their  
detention by states in the framework of international 
obligations. The Geneva Convention relative to the 
Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12.08.1949 is of 
particular importance in determining the legal status  
of prisoners of war in armed conflict, as this 
international treaty establishes rules and standards  
for the protection of prisoners of war during armed 
conflict, their rights and obligations, as well as the 
obligations of the states that hold them.

The structure of the legal status of a prisoner of war  
is as follows: 

1) The rights of a prisoner of war (general human 
rights and special status rights of a prisoner of war), 
a significant part of the rights of prisoners of war is 
enshrined in the Convention by comparing legal 
situations with similar ones that apply to persons from 
the armed forces of the state that holds them captive; 

2) the duties of a prisoner of war (subject to the  
laws, regulations and orders in force in the armed  
forces of the state holding him captive, to disclose 
personal data);

3) guarantees of their implementation by the state 
that holds a prisoner of war in captivity; 

4) legal liability of a prisoner of war (disciplinary  
and criminal liability).

Thus, based on the norms of international  
humanitarian law, which are guarantees of human 

rights and freedoms, it can be argued that the legal 
status of prisoners of war, which is determined by 
a number of international legal acts, affects the practice 
of law enforcement, which determines the rules for 
their treatment and the legality of certain actions of 
state bodies in relation to such persons, namely the 
possibilities, content, and scope of their influence.  
In addition, IHL defines the rights and obligations of 
prisoners of war and the requirements for countries 
holding military personnel in captivity to treat them, 
where compliance with such rules is an international 
obligation.

It is worth noting that the system of prisoners  
of war rights provides for both special and general 
rights, where the former relate to prisoners of war and 
the latter apply to all persons. It is also determined 
that the grounds for bringing prisoners of war to legal 
responsibility have their own peculiarities, which, for 
example, include the right to participate in hostilities 
without being held liable for it. At the same time,  
such immunity does not apply to cases of crimes 
committed by the military during armed conflict.

The justification of the process of planning actions 
to respond to threats and challenges of a military 
nature depends on the following conditions: the level 
of certainty of the situation and its changes; the degree 
of certainty of the interdependence of the purpose, 
functions and tasks of responding to threats and 
challenges in the field of military security; certainty 
of the components, structure, tasks and functions of 
responding to threats, its individual subjects, their 
interaction; the state of functioning of information, 
analytical, scientific, methodological, organisational, 
technical, resource and legal support, etc. These 
conditions are not interconnected and have a complex 
and ambiguous impact on planning for responding to 
threats and challenges in the field of military security. 

The peculiarities of the system of socio-economic 
protection of combatants are: specific subject 
composition of legal relations arising in the course 
of socio-economic protection; special legal status 
of subjects of social protection; specific elemental 
composition of social protection, which covers  
virtually all spheres of public life. 

Problems in the area of social protection of  
combatants in Ukraine lead to a number of negative 
socio-political processes in the country. In particular, 
the standard of living of this category of citizens is 
declining, and public confidence in the state and its 
agencies is being undermined. The social protection 
system needs to be reviewed in many aspects, one  
of the most important of which is the legal regulation  
of this area.



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Received on: 24th of January, 2025
Accepted on: 10th of March, 2025
Published on: 04th of April, 2025