Changes in the Support Provision for Families of Fallen Soldiers Explained by Sargsyan

As of today, families of 16 soldiers who died or went missing during the 44-day Artsakh War have not received any support from the state. This was stated by Hayk Sargsyan, a member of the "Civil Contract" party faction, during a session in the National Assembly, presenting his legislative initiative on amendments to the RA law on "Compensation for Damage to the Life or Health of Soldiers during Defense."

"The law stipulates that in the event of a soldier's death or recognition as missing, the beneficiaries are the soldier's wife, children, and parents. However, these 16 compatriots who sacrificed their lives for the homeland do not have wives, children, or parents," Sargsyan said.

According to him, the study of the issue revealed that these 16 individuals have siblings and grandparents, who, however, are not considered beneficiaries under the current law. Therefore, a decision has been made to amend the law to include not only brothers, sisters, and grandparents but also, in possible other cases, individuals who are not in a registered marriage with the soldier but have children together, as well as those who are divorced from the soldier but share custody of children.

Sargsyan noted that in cases where the soldier has a legal wife and has a child with another woman, the amount will be equally divided between the two women. The same will be applied in cases involving parents and an ex-wife.

Additionally, in such cases, evidence of factual marital relationships and cohabitation, such as photos of their shared life, existence of biological children, marriage certificates issued by the Armenian Apostolic Church, written confirmations from relatives, friends, and neighbors, among others, will be considered as proof.

It is important to recall that compensations are provided by the Soldiers' Insurance Fund, offering a one-time payment of 10 million drams and monthly payments of 200,000 to 300,000 drams for 20 years, depending on the military rank.