SOME ASPECTS OF VOLUNTEERS’ ACTIVITIES UNDER CONDITIONS OF MARTIAL LAW

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of some aspects of volunteers’ activities under conditions of martial law. It is noted that volunterrs were the first who solved the negative challenges associated with the full-scale invasion of Russian Federation, protected and defended our country’s humanitarian sector. They risked their own lives daily saving the lives of others by evacuating from the hottest places in Ukraine, delivering life support items to the territory where hostilities were taking place. There are different formats of the forms of volunteer activity: from individual to collective ones, from direct participation to remote mode of assistance. It is noted that the war in Ukraine forced society to reconsider volunteers’ practical value and volunteer activities in particular. In modern conditions, taking into account numerous risks to life and health while volunteering, volunteers are one of the most vulnerable and unprotected categories. A clear confirmation of the above is a number of cases that, on the one hand, emphasize the role of volunteers in bringing Ukraine’s victory over the occupiers closer, and on the other hand, demonstrate the riskiness of volunteering. Analyzing the Law of Ukraine “On Volunteering”, attention is focused on contradictions that complicate volunteers’ work and lead to the concealment of the fact of assistance. In fact and legally, the activity of those volunteers who provide individual assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine during a full-scale invasion is illegal, although practice shows that a lot of assistance to the army comes precisely from volunteers who are not the members of any volunteer organizations. The presence of such a prohibition does not meet the requirements of martial law. It is emphasized that the military aggression of Russian Federation forced the legislator to revise the legal norms regulating volunteers’ legal status, social and legal protection. According to the authors, the legislative provisions regarding the impossibility of volunteering individually need to be revised and clarified. Key words: volunteer, volunteer activity, volunteer movement, risks, martial law, military aggression, hostilities, Armed Forces of Ukraine, social guarantees.