Returning to work after military service. How to return veterans to their previous jobs

Oleksii Dernov has spent his entire life in Znamianka. It is a small town in the Kirovohrad region and an important railway junction. Dozens of trains pass through the city every day. At the train station, the noise of a train is heard every 15-20 minutes.

So Oleksiy, like many other residents of Znamianka, went to work for the railroad and worked there until the start of the full-scale invasion. Then he volunteered to join the Armed Forces, was later wounded, demobilized, and returned to Ukrzaliznytsia.

Liga.net talked to a veteran about his experience of returning to civilian life and working at the railroad. We also spoke to experts and businesses that already have veteran policies. They told us how they return veterans to civilian work and help them adapt.

"I wanted to work on the railroad probably since the fifth grade. It was my childhood dream," says Oleksii. "I don't know why it happened. I just had a very strong desire to be a driver."

Immediately after high school, he entered the Kremenchuk Vocational School. He started working as a railroad mechanic and simultaneously studied to become a driver at the Odesa Professional College of Transport Technologies.

Then he worked as a mechanic for four years, inspecting locomotives and repairing them if he found a breakdown. Then I worked as an assistant driver for six years.

"It's like racing, there's a driver and a navigator. My role was to be the navigator, i.e. to help the drivers monitor the condition of the locomotive," explains Oleksiy.

It was only ten years later that his dream came true, and he became a freight train driver.

Each flight was interesting in its own way. You never know what to expect: a road trip of a few hours or a night flight of more than ten hours. You don't know what can happen this time. But you have to be prepared for anything.

In fact, a large part of the driver's job is to fix breakdowns during the voyage, he continues. A locomotive is a piece of equipment just like a car, and it can break down too.

The only difference is that the train weighs about four and a half tons. If you stop it somewhere other than in a special place, it's not so easy to get it moving again. That's why most breakdowns have to be repaired on the go.

"You're constantly on your toes and have to be alert when you're on a flight," says Oleksiy, but adds that it was this feeling that gave him pleasure.

He did not have a stable schedule, as in passenger transportation. They would just call him and say: "There's a 4 p.m. flight in the evening" or "You have to work for a few hours tomorrow morning."

Although many people might find such an unstable life uncomfortable, Oleksiy liked it. "I was free then. I had several days off in a row, I could do what I wanted, when I wanted. And then I would grab my pre-packed backpack and get back behind the wheel of the train," he says.

The man managed to work as a machinist for four years, although he had planned to do it all his life. But the full-scale invasion began, and he realized that his dream job could wait. Even if he could never return to it, he still had to protect his home.

A marine instead of a driver

Oleksiy did not join the army right away. When Russia attacked, he was assigned as an evacuation train driver. It was the first time he transported people, not cargo.

"I never wanted to do this (work in passenger transportation – LIGA.net) anyway, let alone under such circumstances," he says.

One of these flights was the longest in Oleksiy's career. It lasted about 32 hours. Although the route was from Dolyna, Kirovohrad region, to Znamianka, a distance of about 80 kilometers. Another team had to take people to the west of the country.

But at that time there were not enough locomotives or railroad cars. In Dolynska, Oleksiy was just waiting for something to take people out.

"Back then, it was common practice to hitch up train cars. There are usually a little over 50 seats, but back then, 200-250 people could travel in them," he recalls.

The number of cargo shipments across Ukraine dropped sharply. The phone that notified Oleksiy about new flights rang much less frequently now, as there was almost no work.

But Oleksii didn't care much. He wanted to join the army and leave the railroad. He was looking for a unit, but was constantly rejected. It was the beginning of the invasion, and there were plenty of volunteers.

And then suddenly a friend offered to join the Marines. He had to leave for training the very next day – January 13, 2023.

The rush puzzled Oleksiy. At first he refused, but ten minutes later he called his friend back and said he agreed. He started packing to go to school in the morning.

"I overslept and accidentally grabbed my work backpack, not the one I was packing for the service," says Oleksiy. "So for the first few days, I had only tools as my personal belongings. And then, of course, I was given the "right backpack" with my belongings."

A marine must be able to work on water, in the air and on land. But in Ukraine, it is possible to train only the first one, so Oleksiy was sent abroad to the UK.

To Oleksiy's surprise, his experience as a driver proved useful in the service. Accustomed to carrying a backpack with tools weighing about 12 kilograms, he had no trouble running and moving while fully equipped.

The ability to navigate the terrain, which I developed over the years of working on the railroad, also helped.

"When you're on a flight, you have to know the areas where you need to change your speed. There are special signs for this, but over time, you still start to orient yourself by the trees around you or the landscape," explains Oleksiy. "And obviously, this experience is useful in the military.

Then there was more training. And after that, Oleksiy and his comrades were sent to fight in the Donetsk region. And he, who had always dreamed of railroads, now became a marine and an assault pilot.

"I thought then that another of my dreams had come true," Oleksiy says jokingly, "because I thought that if I didn't succeed with the railroad, I would join the navy. Of course, I never saw the navy, but I became a sailor. You have to be careful with your dreams."

Where is my hand?

From the very beginning of his service, Oleksiy asked to be an artilleryman. He wanted to work with machines again. However, when the commander saw his physical condition, he said: "What kind of artilleryman are you? You run like a horse. You'll be an assault pilot."

on June 25, 2023, Oleksiy went on another assault. He had to walk four kilometers to the enemy trenches, clear them and gain a foothold there. But from the very beginning, everything went wrong.

Oleksiy's group was ambushed. Two machine gun crews opened fire on them. Four people were immediately wounded. "A bullet sliced off my shoulder, and broke the legs of the others," Oleksiy recalls. His group went first.

After that, they took safe positions and began firing back at the Russians. No one was going to end the operation. On the contrary, they hoped to overwhelm the enemy with fire so that the next group could clear the trenches.

Suddenly, a deafening sound cut short these plans. It was an explosion. Something flew behind Oleksiy's back. He lay there and could not move. By his comrade's eyes, he realized that something terrible had happened.

Oleksiy tried to keep his eyes open to stay conscious. His comrades also kept him awake. But it did not help.

He remembers everything that happened next only in fragments. He remembers being carried away, still in his uniform, and in a moment he was completely bandaged and without an arm.

- "Where is my arm?" he asked. "You have to take my arm away for sure.

They managed to take his arm back. His comrades found it and taped it to Oleksiy's body.

Now they had to walk four kilometers again, but in the other direction. All this time, his comrades carried Oleksiy in their arms. It started to rain, and it became more and more difficult to walk.

He regained consciousness from time to time, and at one of those moments he saw a tourniquet on his left leg. It was tightly wrapped, making his left foot seem bigger than his right, and Oleksiy realized that he had more than one injury.

When the shock wore off, the man felt unbearable pain. He begged his comrades to give him painkillers.

- Give me some painkillers!" Oleksiy shouted.

- "Already," my comrades answered, but the pain was only getting worse.

- Give me some water!" Oleksiy begged.

- You can't, the blood will become thin.

Then Oleksiy woke up in the evacuation vehicle. If earlier his body was burning, now it was shaking from the cold. He was lying down, wrapped in a thermal blanket.

He kept losing consciousness. The doctor hit him in the face to keep him awake. It did not help.

The next memory he has is of being pulled out of the car and transferred to a stabilization center. It happened somewhere between the front line and Zaporizhzhia, but he does not remember where exactly.

- You're so lucky to have brought your arm with you! We'll think of something now and everything will be fine," the doctor told Oleksiy as he was being taken down a long hospital corridor.

Only a few days later he woke up in a hospital in Zaporizhzhia. He was covered in tubes and sensors. He did not remember what had happened before, but he saw that his arm had not been reattached – "my arm was so broken that there was nothing to reattach it to."

No one expected Oleksiy to survive and regain consciousness. His injuries were too severe. But his condition was stabilized, and he was sent to Dnipro.

- The leg will have to be amputated," the doctor said during the examination.

- The doctor in Zaporizhzhia said that the leg could be saved. There is no need to cut it," Oleksiy told the doctor.

- "How long had the turnstile been in place?" he asked.

- Two hours," Oleksiy lied.

- Do not deceive me..

The quarrel continued, but Oleksiy insisted on his way. The doctor began to feel his leg.

- Do you feel anything?" he asked.

- "Yes, yes," Oleksiy lied again. In fact, he felt absolutely nothing.

- If you can move at least one finger tomorrow, we will save your leg. If not, it's too late.

Oleksiy was able to do it. Instead of one amputation, the man underwent 15 surgeries and saved his limb.

Months of rehabilitation followed. "I continued my tour of Ukraine, which began at the front, then in hospitals, and now in rehabilitation," he jokes.

During his rehabilitation, he realized that after his discharge from the service he wanted to return to work on the railroad, but what kind of driver is a driver without an arm?

Why veterans do not return to their previous jobs

According to a survey conducted by the State Employment Service, up to 80% of the military interviewed were civilians before they started their service. About half were employed. But more than 35% said that after demobilization they did not return to their previous jobs or do not plan to return, Yulia Zhovtyak, director of the State Employment Service, told LIGA.net.

"There are many factors that influence this. The first is the physical or psycho-emotional state. A person may be physically healthy, but mentally they are still in the trenches and not ready to go to work in a civilian position," she adds.

However, this is not the only reason. Among others, there is an irrelevant salary. Many veterans in the military received much higher salaries than in civilian jobs. And after demobilization, they do not want to receive less money.

Often, veterans do not return to their previous jobs because the workplace is not adapted to their new needs, or the employer does not create a comfortable environment for the veteran.

Another reason is a change in personal values. Many stop seeing the point in their previous jobs. At the same time, military experience often inspires veterans to start their own business.

"We are seeing a new trend – veterans are increasingly looking for other roles: management, entrepreneurial, or those that make more sense. This is normal. After all, during their service, each and every one of them acquired important skills – prompt decision-making, working in emergency conditions, responsibility," says Yulia Zhovtyak.

Military experience can be adapted to civilian fields, such as management, security, crisis response, or logistics, she adds. The latter is one of the most common professions among veterans.

Instead, a veteran will be more likely to return to his or her previous job if the employer kept in touch with the employee during the service, says Andriy Lazarenko, a career consultant at Lobby X and a veteran.

"Veterans are more likely to return to their previous jobs if it is a narrow industry, such as nuclear power. It's harder for specialized professionals to find a new job," he adds.

This was one of the reasons Oleksiy returned to the railroad. He is a specialist in locomotive maintenance, and only Ukrzaliznytsia needs such specialists.

Locomotives and breakdowns again, but in the office

"I could have quit my job and stayed at home, but I realized that it would not do me any good," Oleksiy explains his motivation to return to work, "I was eating myself at home. I didn't want to do anything or go out. I wanted to hide from everyone."

During his rehabilitation, Oleksiy came home to Znamianka for 30 days. And while in other cities he went for walks around the city with other veterans or volunteers, here he was able to go out only a few times.

It was hard for him to accept himself. He was still walking with crutches with no confidence. He had only recently received a prosthesis. Oleksiy was discouraged and confused. He was not ready to return to society, and society was not always ready to accept him.

"Unfortunately, most people in Ukraine do not yet understand how to talk to veterans – what to ask and what not to ask," says Oleksiy. "Often you just get tired of explaining the same things. I want to move away from it, forget it, and you bring me back to it."

Instead, he found support in friends who had also gone through the war or in relatives of his fallen comrades. Oleksii recalls a friend with whom he studied to become a driver. He is also a veteran and understands him from the word go – "it is this kind of communication that heals and brings you back to your senses."

To avoid sitting at home alone with himself, Oleksii went to the railroad depot and asked if he could return. Of course, he could no longer work as a driver.

A special committee was assembled at the depot to find a new position for Oleksiy. He now works as a process engineer and instead of a locomotive and spontaneous trips, he now has an office with a computer and a fixed work schedule.

While he used to solve problems on the fly, now he has to analyze them after the train has finished running. Oleksiy identifies the causes of locomotive breakdowns and proposes an action plan to avoid them in the future. His previous experience was enough, so he didn't need to be retrained.

"There are advantages to this position. Now I am guaranteed to be home every night. I work from 8:00 to 17:00. It's just like an office worker," says Oleksiy. "But I miss the extreme, I miss the views from the window, I miss the surprise.

How to make a veteran's return more comfortable

The first thing the employer should do is not interfere with the veteran's full rehabilitation. The employer should give the veteran enough time for his or her own recovery. Even if it requires additional leave.

The attitude toward veterans is equally important. They don't need special attention, sympathy, or pity from their colleagues, says Andriy Lazarenko, a career consultant at Lobby X. All they need is respect, just like any other person.

"Respect does not equal pity. Veterans do not need to be pitied for their conscious choice. It should be respected," the expert says.

Veterans, like people in general, are different, and employers should understand that someone will get into a working rhythm in a couple of weeks, while someone may need time to adapt. According to Andriy's observations, it takes from six months to two years. There is a flip side to the coin.

"At the front, they had to make decisions in seconds to survive. That's why now veterans may sincerely not understand why it takes so long to sign one piece of paper," explains Andriy Lazarenko.

Yulia Zhovtyak advises not to ask painful questions, not to joke about the war, not to impose your help, but not to avoid talking to a veteran. If the conversation is confidential, you can ask if they need support and what kind of support.

It is better to avoid tactile contact: hugs, touching, and active gestures can cause negative emotions.

These things require nothing but empathy, so they can be implemented in any company, even small ones, says Yulia Zhovtyak. Larger companies should create their own veteran policies.

"Veteran Officer positions are already appearing in Ukrainian companies. This is a person close to the HR department who works with the veteran community in the team. Ideally, this person should be a veteran, or at least a person trusted by veterans," says Andriy Lazarenko.

At UkrSibbank, for example, this is the responsibility of Mikhail Drapoguz, head of veterans' programs. The company retains the salaries of mobilized employees and increases them by 20% for the duration of their service. The company also helps the military with the purchase of ammunition and provides extended health insurance. Such assistance is available not only to mobilized employees but also to those whose relatives have joined the army.

Currently, the bank employs 17 demobilized colleagues out of more than 130 mobilized colleagues, as well as new employees who joined after the service.

After demobilization, UkrSibbank provides veterans with a 30-day paid vacation and the opportunity to work remotely or in a mixed format. The company maintains extended medical insurance for veterans.

"We are especially proud of our veteran community. This is an internal space where demobilized employees, new colleagues with service experience, and military families can feel not alone. The community helps to share experience, support newcomers and, most importantly, influence the bank's veteran policy," says Mykhailo Drapoguz.

At Fozzy Group, a separate team is also responsible for veteran policy. It is headed by one of the company's veterans, as the company is guided by the principle: nothing for veterans without veterans.

Here, the conditions of financial support are similar. Veterans are also paid a check after demobilization. Veterans can also take part in emotional recovery programs at Fozzy Camp and benefit from unlimited consultations with psychologists and coaches.

The company has also developed a comprehensive adaptation program for veterans, which includes both work with demobilized employees and the rest of the team. It includes:

• Personalized onboarding and retraining

• Training for managers and HR

• A series of webinars with a military psychologist for veterans

• Checklists and one-to-one support (support by members of the veterans' rehabilitation team)

• Inclusive workplaces (adaptation of work formats and, if necessary, implementation of special technical solutions)

There is no separate veterans' department at Ukrzaliznytsia, where Oleksii works. But the Social Protection Department works with veterans there. They develop strategies on how to better accommodate veterans after demobilization and implement them at all levels of the company. Also, the department's employees are constantly in touch with mobilized employees.

Representatives of the HR department work with demobilized veterans on the ground. If the unit is small and there are no HR people there, the head of the unit is in charge. They make sure that the veteran or the team has no problems. If there are, they look for ways to solve them.

However, many veterans still strive for more and want to start their own business or engage in social activities to help the frontline or bring other veterans back to civilian life. This is what Oleksiy wants to do.

I want more

Although Oleksiy is happy to return to work at his depot, he dreams of opening his own business in the future. In his new position, his salary is less than it was in the army. And less than when he was a driver – "it's not bad money, but it's not enough for a man of 30."

However, money is not the main reason. Oleksiy feels that he has already gained experience and is ready to create something of his own. It is also important to him that his work directly benefits the army and the state.

"I haven't decided exactly what I want to do yet, but I realize that business is an opportunity to help the army more. I will be able to donate larger amounts or even start my own drone production," says Oleksiy.

He definitely wants to hire other veterans in his company to help those who find it difficult to return to civilian life.

Another dream of Oleksiy's is to open the first sports section for veterans in Znamianka.

"But I also have personal ambitions in sports. I want to take part in the Invictus Games next year," he admits. "I don't know which sport to choose, but I still have some time to think about it.

***

While working on the material, Oleksiy decided to resign from Ukrzaliznytsia. He worked there for about a year after leaving the service, from August 2024 to August 2025.

"I'm sorry to leave the railroad. Especially with 19 years of experience behind me," says Oleksiy. "But, unfortunately, state-owned companies cannot offer competitive salaries. And I want more."

The man started working for the Future for Ukraine charity foundation, which provides prosthetics to veterans, assistance to women who have suffered from sexual violence and children with autism. It was here that Oleksiy was helped to make a prosthetic arm.

Oleksiy is responsible for the expansion of the foundation. He is looking for premises for it in Mykolaiv and Lviv, checking their technical condition. He admits that his experience with the railroad comes in handy here, too.

"This job has a more flexible schedule, I work remotely and can resolve most issues over the phone," says Oleksiy. "Sometimes I go on business trips for a day or two, like I used to do with flights. Sometimes I drive more than 1,000 kilometers in a day, which is not something you do as a driver."

The material was created by LIGA.net is supported by the Askold & Dir Foundation, administered by ISAR Ednannia as part of the project "Strong Civil Society in Ukraine – Driving Reforms and Democracy" with funding from Norway and Sweden. The content of this publication is the responsibility of LIGA.net and do not reflect the views of the governments of Norway, Sweden or ISAF Ednannia.