Poltava BAZUKA. Veterans unite to help each other in business.

"Only one out of seven veterans who come to me with a request to start a business is really ready for it," says former serviceman Taras Lelyukh.

In 2021, he founded a public association that helps former military personnel become entrepreneurs. The principle of his public organization "BAZUKA" is "One of our own to another of our own, with our own for our own." (The name of the NGO is an abbreviation that stands for "Business Association of Defenders of Ukraine "Kolovorot Areyiv")

Veterans not only learn or master the principles of entrepreneurship from scratch, but also create production chains. For example, they buy goods or services from each other, start producing goods for the needs of their colleagues in the community, or share their experience.

Correspondent LIGA.net I spoke with veteran entrepreneurs about how joining a public association helped them.

What kind of assistance does the union provide

Taras Lelyukh fought since 2014, volunteering for the ATO. After demobilization, he and his comrade-in-arms and his wife founded the agricultural company "Demetra-Agro Group". They cultivate 700 hectares of agricultural land in Poltava Oblast. 95% of the land plots belong to ATO participants and families of fallen soldiers.

Demetra-Agro Group grows corn, soybeans, wheat, and sunflower. There were plans to develop horticulture, but the full-scale war interfered.

In parallel with his business, Lelyukh created his own association, "BAZUKA". He says that veterans belong to many unions, but their interests are diverse.

"We brought together in one organization those who already had their own business or were planning to start one," explains the founder.

The union's office is located at Poltava University of Economics and Trade. The NGO rents the premises on preferential terms. Meetings and training sessions are held in the office. University lecturers – candidates of economic sciences – are also involved, teaching veterans and their family members the basics of business.

The organization's office also functions as a co-working space: members of the organization can come here to work. It can also be used to organize meetings with clients or potential partners.

Industry-specific consultations are also taking place. For example, agricultural consultations are conducted by veteran farmers, of whom there are already ten in the association.

In total, the public association includes more than 50 enterprises that create a veteran ecosystem. If someone manufactures plastic bottles, another starts making the drinks that are bottled in them, explains Taras Lelyukh. Or someone grows grain, and another starts processing it. Someone else buys a car to provide transportation services to their fellow veterans, says the founder of the "BAZUKA" organization.

The defense attorney received a grant to expand the case

However, the primary task of the association is education and enlightenment. Lelyukh personally sometimes advises his comrades on creating grant applications.

I received the grant thanks to Taras's kick in the pants. He said: take a pen and write, – jokes union member Taras Korotchenko.

The veteran works as a sole proprietor, installing windows. He has been in this field for over 20 years. Korotchenko needed funds to expand his business. He had previously invested his own money in the business and had no experience in obtaining grants.

"I went to Taras Lelyukh three or four times, and we looked at what could be improved in the application," says Korochenko.

He received two grants – 1.5 million UAH from the Veteran Fund under the "Varto" program and 500,000 UAH from eRobota. He used part of the funds to purchase components, which allowed him to expand the product range.

Korotchenko mainly works with retail clients. He says that the market has shrunk since the start of the war. Therefore, the veteran community is also his clientele. He offers a 10% discount to his fellow veterans.

Accounting services for veteran entrepreneurs

Thanks to the union's assistance, Olena Polyvoda from Poltava won a grant of 500,000 UAH from the e-Work program in August 2025. She is the wife of a serviceman who is currently at the front. She has been working as an accountant for 16 years. This year, she registered as a sole proprietor and, under the terms of the grant, hired two employees.

"I wrote the business plan myself. In the association, Taras and another participant told me what documents were needed and helped me fill out the application," says Olena.

Now, an experienced accountant provides professional services to veteran entrepreneurs. She helps file declarations, reports, pay taxes, and open sole proprietorships. She also advises on how to work in the tax office's online portal.

Some of its services are free for veterans. In particular, the initial registration of a sole proprietorship and the addition of business codes. Other services for former military personnel receive a 20% discount.

For example, maintaining a second or third group of self-employed individuals without hired employees costs 1500 UAH per month. For veterans, it's 1200 UAH, – says Olena, giving an example.

The first clients are veterans.

In March, veteran Artem Lifridov opened the "PRO галушки" street food cafe in the center of Poltava. They offer six types of their signature Poltava dish – with turkey, shrimp, ham, mushrooms, and fruit. You can order takeout or eat in.

We have received a lot of support from veterans, their families, and the families of active military personnel. Many people come and buy just because it's a veteran-owned business," says the entrepreneur.

In turn, the establishment also helps the military: they have a loyalty program for them – a 20% discount on dishes. You can also "hang" dishes for defenders, that is, pay in advance for a soldier.

The entrepreneur employs fellow soldiers. A disabled veteran with a high leg amputation works as a cook in his establishment. The wife of a fellow soldier and the daughter of a fallen defender also work here.

Entrepreneurship is the path to a peaceful life.

One of the places where the public association's meetings take place is the "Strength of Spirit" space for physical and mental health, 15 km from Poltava. It was founded by veteran Oleksandr Pikhov after he had to recover from a serious illness himself.

Oleksandr, like Taras Lelyukh, has been fighting since 2014. Between the first and second mobilizations, he created a security company, and that's when he gained his first entrepreneurial experience.

Oleksandr invested about 3.5 million UAH of his own funds in the "Spirit of Strength" rehabilitation center, which he initially built as a recreation center. He received another 250,000 UAH as part of the state grant "My Own Business".

The space offers three cottages that can accommodate up to 10 guests at a time. All are insulated and equipped with inverters and air conditioning. The cost of accommodation is 5000-6000 UAH per night, depending on the size of the cottage. Military personnel receive a 20% discount. However, the entrepreneur explains that he communicates personally with each veteran, and the discount may be even larger.

After the victory, the importance of such communities that help veterans become entrepreneurs will only increase, believes Artem Lifridov, co-founder of "PRO галушки".

"When the guys return from the front, and many of them had high incomes, they won't want to go back to minimum wages. And one of the ways is entrepreneurship," he is sure.

This material was created by LIGA.net with the support of the "Askol'd and Dir" Foundation, administered by ISAR Unity, as part of the project "A Strong Civil Society in Ukraine – a Driver of Reform and Democracy," funded by Norway and Sweden. The content of this publication is the responsibility of LIGA.net and does not reflect the views of the governments of Norway, Sweden, or ISAR Unity.