Members of the regional council demand the rotation of Transcarpathian soldiers

Today, during the extraordinary session of the regional council, the deputies adopted the appeal to the President of Ukraine Poroshenko, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Parubiy,  the Acting Minister of Defence of Ukraine Koval regarding the rotation of Transcarpathian military personnel, who are involved in the anti-terrorist operation in Eastern Ukraine, and immediate resolving of issues of proper logistic support of all soldiers.

"In this difficult time for our country, when the fate of Ukraine’s independence, its territorial integrity is at stake, deputies of local councils of Transcarpathian region express their full support for the efforts of the President of Ukraine and the Government to fight separatism and military aggression by foreign terrorist groups in the east.

Unfortunately, Ukrainians are defending their land, independence and freedom at too high a cost. We bow our heads low to the heroes fallen in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including four of our countrymen.

Due to the numerous appeals of the relatives of Transcarpathian soldiers, who for 4 months now have been serving in "hot spots" in eastern Ukraine, local government of Transcarpathian region, deputies of the regional council appeal with a request:

to hold the rotation of our soldiers and bring the appropriate schedules of rotation to the families of the soldiers;

to prohibit untrained 18-20-year-old boys to take part in the ATO, instead to send there professional personnel of special units of law enforcement agencies and volunteers;

to withdraw all military personnel, who participate in UN peacekeeping missions, and engage them in combat operations on the Eastern Ukraine.

We also require the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to quickly and urgently address the most pressing social problems of servicemen involved in the anti-terrorist operation, in particular:

to provide high quality personal protective equipment (body armor, helmets, necessary ammunition, weapons, etc.), medical assistance;

to provide compulsory state insurance of health and life of soldiers in amount of 1,000,000 UAH;

to ensure the supply of quality food and drinking water;

to grant short-term leave;

to document the status of combatants;

to increase salary and ensure its timely payment.

We urge to take comprehensive measures for peaceful settlement of the armed conflict in Ukraine.

We hope that the above vital issues will be resolved quickly," – the appeal of the deputies of the regional council to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine states.

The appeals were also sent to the people’s deputies of Ukraine from Transcarpathian region.