Ukraine is facing the urgent challenge of changing its infrastructure and societal attitude to create an inclusive environment for all veterans and people with disabilities.
In June, more that 50,000 Ukrainians had lost one or more limbs as a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine. More than 3,000,000 people, 10% of the population, live with a disability. The Ukrainian legislative framework is designed to protect and include people with disabilities in society. In practice, however outdated infrastructure and prevalent social attitudes still maintain significant barriers three years after the full-scale invasion.
Kyiv is home to modern residential complexes, sleek shops, and trendy restaurants, but the Soviet-era infrastructure is still prevalent. Underground crosswalks with long stairs, apartment buildings, government office, stores, cultural centres, and even the metro are inaccessible.
In the Soviet Union people with disabilities were often seen as expendable burdens, if they were even acknowledged. After World War II, and into the transitional years of the 1990s people with disabilities were mostly confined to their own homes. Transit was inaccessible, and elevators would often break down. Wheelchairs and prosthetics weren’t practical and were scarce.
The state did not invest in accommodations for amputee veterans returning from World War II despite the fact that there were millions of them. Veterans with visible limb losses were considered “uncomfortable”, and incompatible with the Soviet idea of postwar industrialization. The state went so far as a secret order to ban people with disabilities in higher education.
When Western journalists asked if Paralympians would be competing, the official response was “There are no invalids” in the USSR. A whole population was rendered invisible through forced erasure.
Despite the fact that conditions have improved significantly since Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union, there are still many challenges. Even basic accessibility features, such as ramps, are not common in Ukrainian cities. The few ramps that exist are often too steep or narrow or blocked by merchandise displays or generators, rendering them useless.
Oleksandr (Teren) Budko, a double-limb-loss veteran of the Carpathian SS 49th Infantry Battalion, is an activist, public figure and Season 13 Bachelor contestant. Budko, a veteran, and Yevhen Svoplias are both using their social media platforms to highlight the obstacles facing wheelchair users in Ukraine. Their videos show everything from curved sidewalks to unreachable buttons for assisted entry and broken wheelchair lifts.
Ramps are not the only solution, however. Oleksandr Bzylevych, an ex-drone operator with the 3rd Regiment, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces who lost three limbs in a September 2023 offensive outside Kupiansk, says. Many businesses with ramps do not meet other needs, such as providing wheelchair-accessible restrooms or wide enough entrances.
Dialog and cooperation between business owners is essential to implement structural changes that promote a more inclusive culture. This would not only benefit wheelchair users, but also parents with strollers and seniors. Public transportation also needs an upgrade (and a dedicated city budget) as the subway and private mini buses, or “marshrutky,” are impossible for wheelchair users to navigate, leaving private taxis as the main–and unaffordable–option.
Veterans with disabilities face more than just physical barriers. The Soviet-era belief that people with disabilities could not live independently still permeates society. Bazylevych claims that he is asked constantly by taxi drivers, train staff and other people where his attendant is. This assumption is based on outdated notions of perceived inability.
Bazylevych says that, although people offer to help him in difficult situations, universal accessibility should be a priority.
“Accessibility is important, because objectively-speaking, there are many people who require it. I don’t want any special entitlements. I just want to live and work. The society as a whole must change its perceptions of people with disabilities. We can work and earn money if we have the right conditions. It’s not necessary to make these structural changes over a period of years. We only need the ability to move around and access the basics.
“Society needs to change their perception of people with disabilities, because we are capable of working and earning money. We just need the right conditions to make this possible.”
In the midst of war, projects that promote visibility, destigmatization and inclusion are creating a blueprint to true accessibility in Ukraine.
Kurazh is a cultural and social event that takes place in Kyiv. It combines lectures, performances and curated local brands. Kurazh, a cultural and social event in Kyiv that focuses on tolerance and inclusivity has raised more than 50 million hryvnias over the last decade with the help from 750,000 guests.
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