Online Legal Assistance: The NAAU’s ADVOCATE+ Platform Helps Service Members Overcome Bureaucratic Red Tape
Reports that “get lost” in offices, the bureaucratic hell of military medical examinations, delays in payments, or complicated civilian issues that have to be resolved from the trenches —all of this is the reality that soldiers face every day.
It is far from uncommon for service members—especially those currently in the combat zone—to be forced to worry about matters other than repelling enemy attacks. To lift the bureaucratic burden from the shoulders of service members, the Committee on the Protection of Victims of Armed Aggression of the Ukrainian National Bar Association launched the “Advocate+” project and the eponymous web platform advokatplus.unba.org.ua. This initiative combines modern LegalTech technologies with the expertise of leading lawyers into a unified system of legal protection.
As is well known, the main problem with traditional legal assistance in wartime is time and logistics. A soldier on the front lines or a wounded soldier in a hospital cannot search for a lawyer, sign paper contracts, or wait hours for an appointment. That is why the project’s creators opted for a hybrid model of assistance, where technology serves as a fast conduit.
All a user needs to do is visit the website from a mobile phone, indicate their status, and—most importantly—select their military unit or brigade. This detail is crucial: the system is designed so that each unit is assigned a specific lawyer. This lawyer doesn’t just provide “general” advice; they have in-depth knowledge of the specific internal processes of that particular brigade, understand its deployment, and are familiar with the nuances of interacting with the command.
After a quick registration of the request, the attorney promptly gets in touch, helps draft a report correctly, prepare a statement, or determine the legality of certain actions. For service members and their families, all initial consultations and assistance with documents are completely free of charge.
The average user sees only a simple website interface, but a powerful analytical mechanism operates within the system. Every request is routed to a specialized CRM system, which automatically assigns cases, tracks deadlines, and monitors the quality of work. This completely eliminates human error—no request can get lost or go unanswered.
Moreover, the system features a mechanism for rapid response and escalation of inquiries. If a lawyer assigned to a team encounters a non-standard or highly specialized issue, they can, with a single click, bring in colleagues from the UNAA Committee—leading experts in criminal, family, civil, or land law—to assist with the case.
Of course, special attention has been paid to security. Since the platform handles sensitive data belonging to military personnel, all information is securely protected in accordance with international cybersecurity standards, and access is restricted to verified attorneys bound by strict professional confidentiality.
The project’s story began in late March 2026 as a bold experiment. It began with three units: the 157th Mechanized Brigade, the legendary 79th Tavriya Airborne Assault Brigade, and the National Guard’s “Spartan” Brigade. Within a week, the project’s lawyers traveled directly to the troops’ deployment sites in the combat zone to provide initial in-person consultations and establish direct contact.
The results of this pilot program proved so convincing that the experience was promptly analyzed at the Committee’s field meetings in Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv, and Dnipro. It became clear: the format works, and it is in demand among both soldiers and commanders, who are interested in ensuring that legal issues affecting personnel are resolved efficiently and promptly. As a result, the project has now been scaled up to include 14 brigades of the Armed Forces and the National Guard of Ukraine, and this network continues to expand.
Experience has shown that the problems faced by service members are rarely limited to military regulations or rules of service. Alongside requests regarding payments, medical examinations, obtaining combatant status, or transfers to other units, lawyers must untangle complex civil cases. Servicemembers are concerned about unpaid loans, inheritance matters, family disputes, legal defense in enforcement proceedings, and social benefits for their families. A separate and psychologically particularly challenging area involves supporting the families of prisoners of war and those missing in action.
It is worth noting that, in addition to providing direct, targeted assistance, the “Advocate+” platform serves as an information resource. The website features an open “Knowledge Base” that compiles practical step-by-step guides for the most common situations: from rules for taking leave to procedures to follow in case of injury. It also features ready-made report templates and a unique practical guide for service members that teaches them how to properly collect and store documents to avoid problems with status verification in the future.
However, the project’s most important mission is to bring about systemic changes in the country. The analytics accumulated in the CRM system allow members of the NAAU Committee to identify systemic gaps in Ukrainian legislation. Instead of endlessly dealing with the consequences, lawyers are addressing the root causes.
Based on appeals from service members, the Committee has already developed and submitted to the government a comprehensive package of legislative proposals. These proposals aim to simplify military medical examinations for those returning from captivity with chronic illnesses, eliminating unfair disparities in pay for contract soldiers, resolving technical issues with housing vouchers for internally displaced persons, and even regulating the registration of vehicles that military personnel receive as humanitarian aid.
