Operators of the Unified Veterans Hotline, which was created by the Ministry for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine with the assistance of the Ukrainian Red Cross, have already processed more than 12,000 calls, Deputy Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Ruslan Prykhodko has said.

"The ministry launched the Unified Hotline together with the Red Cross and with its support in April of this year. As of today, we have processed more than 12,000 calls. This is quite a large number. The load on operators is constantly increasing," he told reporters on Friday.

The official emphasized that now veterans and members of their families can contact the Unified Hotline "with almost any request."

"Among the most popular topics of appeal are medical problems, housing, social issues, cash payments and benefits, registration of the status of combatant and disabled person due to the war," Prykhodko said.

At the same time, Head of the Information Center of the Ukrainian Red Cross Maria Kutina said there are now eight operators working for the Unified Veterans Hotline, and they plan to hire another two soon. They are all trained and can provide emotional and psychological support. Operators also help to send requests if they are within the competence of other ministries and departments, most often the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Health.

There are also two lawyers who help in clarifying legal issues.

"Operators receive on average 60-80 calls per day, although we saw a record of almost 100 calls per shift, but this was only once," Kutina said.

The phone number of the Unified Veterans Hotline is 0 800 505 217, it is open from 8:00 to 20:00.