For the second year in a row, HUG (Help Ukraine Gothenburg) took part in Almedalen Week. This year, we came with an important mission: to bring greater attention to the experiences and needs of Ukrainian veterans while sharing what we have learned through our work with veterans and their families.
To strengthen these conversations, we invited our friends and partners from Ukraine to join the HUG delegation in Visby. The delegation brought together Ukrainian veterans and participants of HUG for Heroes, combat medics, military professionals, and civil society leaders with first-hand experience of war, veteran recovery, and life after service.
Among them were:
Oleksandr Tereshchenko - People’s Hero of Ukraine, former Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, and civil society leader.
Viktor - veteran of the 95th Air Assault Brigade.
Ivan - Lieutenant Colonel, National Guard of Ukraine.
Oleksii - drone unit commander, National Guard of Ukraine.
Oleksandr Borys - combat medic, tactical medicine instructor, and evacuation systems specialist.
Throughout the week, members of the delegation took part in panel discussions, lectures, meetings, and conversations with Swedish decision-makers, defence professionals, researchers, veterans, and civil society organisations.
Oleksandr Tereshchenko joined the panel “Ukrainian veterans and democratic resilience: lessons for reintegration”, organised by the Swedish Defence University and the Folke Bernadotte Academy. Drawing on his experience as a servicemember, policymaker, and civil society leader, he brought a first-hand perspective to discussions on veteran reintegration, democracy, social inclusion, and trust.
Our delegation also brought practical experience into discussions on preparedness and resilience. Combat medic Oleksandr Borys shared the latest realities of medical evacuation in Ukraine and presented HUG’s work to transform civilian vehicles into evacuation vehicles. Together, HUG and Oleksandr are now developing reinforced armoured casevacs to respond to the growing threat from drones and improve protection during evacuation.
Beyond the panels, our Ukrainian guests met with Swedish leaders and senior representatives from the defence and security community, including Pål Jonson, Benjamin Dousa, Ann Linde, Michael Claesson, Jonny Lindfors, Mattias Ardin, Mikael Frisell, Micael Johansson, and others. The conversations covered modern warfare, UAV technologies, total defence, veteran reintegration, and the lessons Ukraine’s experience can offer Sweden and Europe.
For us at HUG, Almedalen is about more than bringing people together for a week. It is about creating opportunities for people with very different experiences to meet, listen to one another, and learn from each other.
We are grateful to everyone who welcomed our Ukrainian delegation, shared their time and knowledge, and helped make these conversations possible. We look forward to continuing the dialogue and to make steps forward for future partnerships and collaborations. 💙💛
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