In December, Ukrainian soldiers will start receiving dry rations in accordance with religious, medical and ethical needs. This is reported by Komersant ukrainskyi
with reference to the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
The new dry rations will be available to servicemen from December 2024.
“As part of this initiative, it is planned to significantly expand the range of dry rations, which will provide the military with a greater variety of products, including vegetable, kosher and halal sets,” the ministry said.
The dry rations are being developed jointly with representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Islamic and Jewish communities, as well as NGOs Every Animal and UAnimals, which work in the field of animal rights, and market representatives.
“We know that many of our military personnel follow different religious traditions or have special dietary needs, so we actively cooperate with religious communities and nutrition experts. We also understand the importance of ethical choices, so plant-based rations will be an important part of our new strategy. This is not only a matter of nutrition, but also of respecting the beliefs of each soldier,” said Dmytro Klimenkov, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine.
The NGO Every Animal reported that since the beginning of the full-scale war, it has been supporting the military who do not eat animal products. Last year, the team, together with partners, developed 18 meals in a retort and packed them into seven daily field kits.