- November 28, 2025
- 8:45 pm
- Ukraine
In Kyiv, the third RECOVER TOGETHER forum was held — an event where not just individual medical techniques are discussed, but the entire architecture of military recovery. More than three hundred and fifty specialists from a hundred medical institutions came to align approaches and understand what works in wartime conditions and what requires restructuring. The organizer is the RECOVERY project by Viktor and Elena Pinchuk.
This time, the conversation went beyond the usual medical format. Participants talked about rehabilitation as a mechanism of national security. A topic that previously sounded theoretical has now become practical. Pinchuk formulated it harshly: the country must treat its warriors differently, or it will face a social crisis.
The program gathered about a hundred speakers — Ukraine, Israel, the United Kingdom. Discussions were built around three pillars: respect and unique support for heroes, modern medicine and staff training, as well as the return of specialists who can strengthen the front and rear. The logic is simple: rehabilitation is part of defense capability.
Practical topics were covered broadly. Combat trauma, treatment protocols, professional standards, educational gaps — everything was discussed in parallel. Taras Topolia moderated a panel where military personnel shared their own recovery trajectories. Some of these stories become material for analysis, not just emotional experiences.
Social and medical challenges were outlined directly. Iryna Vereshchuk explained that the rehabilitation system before the war was outdated, and today it has received resources but also new burdens. Yevhen Moisyuk spoke about the connection between the quality of recovery and the real combat capability of the army. No pathos — just a simple dependency.
The psychological direction was separately emphasized. The “RETURN” project was presented as an example that the combination of physical and psychological rehabilitation works better than any separate approaches. Oksana Zbitneva noted that the culture of attitude towards mental health has shifted — trust is already being built, without which recovery will not be sustainable.
Future contours of the system were also discussed. Chrystia Freeland spoke about the role of veterans in the post-war recovery of Ukraine. Their leaders and their experience are a resource not only for the army but also for the economy and administration. Dmytro Polovyan emphasized that the participation of veterans in supporting each other creates an environment where professional experience is retained and new infrastructure is formed.
A separate block of the conference was dedicated to coordination — an issue that often seems technical, but on which all effectiveness depends. Svitlana Hrytsenko stated that interaction between agencies, NGOs, and medical institutions is still uneven, but such events allow for the establishment of common standards. It is not a quick process, but it is already underway.
The forum showed that the rehabilitation system is developing in parallel with the war — both forced and strategic. The RECOVERY project now unites eighteen centers. Almost forty thousand servicemen have passed through them. This is no longer temporary infrastructure, but a fragment of the national framework in which rehabilitation is established as a mandatory component of security.
We will continue to monitor the development of these programs, especially at the intersections of Ukrainian and Israeli experience — this is the focus of the materials being prepared by the editorial team of NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency.
