Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology, and Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi, Executive Director of the Register of Damages Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, signed an agreement on the exchange of electronic data, which will allow Ukrainians to file a claim for compensation of damage caused by Russian aggression in a few clicks. This will be a completely new service in Diia and the first case of international data exchange for which Diia will be used.  

“Diia has become one of the main digital tools for reconstruction. First, we launched the service of Reporting Damaged Property, then, together with the Ministry of Reconstruction, the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property, and later the eRecovery service. Submitting claims through Diia to the international Register of Damage is an important step for recording damage and confirming all losses caused by Russia. Diia is becoming an important part of conveying and reflecting the scale of the damage so that a compensation mechanism can be launched in the future,” said Mykhailo Fedorov. 

Last May, the Council of Europe established the international Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which is headquartered in The Hague. The purpose of the Register is to collect claims and evidence of damage and losses caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine, in particular, destruction. The information from the Register of Damage will allow us to record the extent and consequences of the Russian invasion, and subsequently launch a mechanism for compensation to all victims. Work on such a mechanism is already underway. 

“The Register of Damages for Ukraine is an important first step towards reparation for the damage caused by Russia’s aggression to Ukraine and all those affected by this aggression. The Register is preparing to accept millions of claims from victims and will commence its work soon. We are very pleased to be cooperating with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Diia. With Diia being a convenient and reliable application for 20 million Ukrainians, we are able to create a simple, accessible and secure way to submit claims to the Register. In addition, due to the integration of Diia into the extensive infrastructure of digital services and public registries in Ukraine, it will facilitate the process of collecting evidence to be attached to the application,” said Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi.

The service will be available through the portal and the Diia app. At the first stage, it will be possible to transfer information about damaged and destroyed residential immovable property, including private houses, apartments, country houses, etc. In the future, we plan to expand the list of application categories so that victims can submit claims for other types of war damage. In particular, it will be possible to submit applications regarding the death of a close relative, injuries, torture or sexual violence, involuntary displacement, etc. In addition, legal entities and the state will be able to submit claims for compensation,  first and foremost, for the destruction of critical infrastructure, business losses, etc. In addition to Diia, in the future, there will be alternative opportunities to submit claims to the international Register of Damage.

As a reminder, Ukraine began recording the consequences of the Russian war in the first month of the full-scale invasion. In March 2022, we launched the service for reporting damaged and destroyed property in Diia. Since then, Ukrainians have submitted 626,000 applications. 

Later, we launched the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property, which became the basis for the launch of the eVodnovlennya service. Under the programme, Ukrainians have already received UAH  4,1 billion of financial assistance to repair damaged housing and UAH 3,2 billion of compensation for destroyed homes. 

Serhii Orlov, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation, and Digitalization, noted: “The anticipated commencement of the application submission process to the International Register of Damages followed extensive and meticulous efforts. The losses and damages incurred due to the unprovoked Russian aggression are colossal. The victims primarily include individuals, Ukrainian and foreign enterprises, and our state. We express gratitude to our colleagues and international partners for their assistance in identifying and establishing effective mechanisms for reparations from the aggressor country.”

Learn more about the International Register of Damage at www.RD4U.claims.

Learn more about Diia at www.diia.gov.ua. 

The service in Diia and the requirements for the development of the international register were implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Ministry of Justice with the support of the USAID/UK aid Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services (TAPAS) Activity.