A modern multifunctional space "Veteran PRO. Zaporizhzhia" was presented during the working visit of the head of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Natalia Kalmykova to Zaporizhzhia. The hub was visited by Serhiy Volynskyi, Hero of Ukraine, defender of Mariupol and Azovstal, Ivan Fedorov, Head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration, Regina Kharchenko, Secretary of the City Council, and Oleksandr Myronenko, Chief Operating Officer of Metinvest Group, to provide comprehensive support to war veterans and their families. The Veterans' space was created with the participation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, the City Council and with the financial participation of Metinvest.
The new veteran hub brings together services for defenders, their families and families of fallen heroes. In particular, specialists from the ASC, the Pension Fund, the Job Placement Centre work on the basis of the veterans' space. The qualified specialists provide psychological and legal support, etc. The hub was created in the Oleksandrivskyi district of the city in a historic building, where carefully preserved architectural expressiveness is combined with the barrier-free new veteran's space.
The head of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Natalia KALMYKOVA noted: It is very important when local people understand that veterans are not about charity, but about the huge potential for the development of the region and the city in various fields.
Today, Metinvest is an active participant in the process of supporting and reintegrating veterans, as more than a thousand of the company's employees have already returned from the front line to civilian life, to the teams of the Group's enterprises in Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Kamianske. Metinvest has created an ecosystem for working with veterans, which is not a separate area, but a comprehensive approach to all work processes.
"Veteran centricity and true respect for the heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian war are values that should be implemented in specific applied solutions. Creating a single space where a veteran, his family, or the family of a fallen hero can receive the necessary support and assistance is one of such steps forward. Metinvest joins socially significant projects in the regions where it operates, which are aimed at supporting veterans and their families, as well as honouring the fallen defenders of Ukraine. We are already helping the community of Zaporizhzhia in the implementation of the next veteran policy projects," said Oleksandr MYRONENKO, Chief Operating Officer of Metinvest Group.
Also during the event, Hero of Ukraine Serhii VOLYNSKYI spoke about the white and black "Flag of Hope" placed on the building of the veteran's hub, which symbolized a reminder of Ukrainians who were in captivity or missing, and hope for their return home.
Honouring the memory of the defenders who had given their lives in the fight for Ukraine, Natalia Kalmykova laid flowers at the Tree of Memory memorial. It should be noted that Metinvest Group had financed the creation of the memorial installation "Tree of Memory" in Zaporizhzhia, dedicated to the fallen defenders of Ukraine. The author of the idea had been a Ukrainian production designer, actor and theater director, and now an active serviceman Dmytro Kostyuminskyi.
