The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has prioritized preventing fuel shortages for the Armed Forces, the population, and the planting campaign. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko emphasized that the government has taken a number of measures to stabilize prices at gas stations, which has helped avoid a sharp increase following the fuel crisis of 2022.
This is reported by Finway
State Actions to Curb Fuel Prices
According to the head of the government, one of the key steps was the recommendation for the state operator, JSC “Ukrnafta,” to set a minimum markup on fuel. This policy allows “Ukrnafta” to act as a kind of regulator and benchmark for other market participants, contributing to price stability.
“It is very important for us, after the fuel crisis we experienced in 2022, to ensure that there is no fuel shortage to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for the population, and for the planting season. This is essentially the main task that has been outlined for all market operators without exception. Regarding prices at gas stations, if they were calculated according to the formula, they would have already exceeded 100 UAH today. This did not happen,” Svyrydenko said.
Furthermore, the government did not consider the possibility of introducing restrictions on fuel sales to prevent panic among consumers and avoid provoking an artificial shortage.
Social Support and Budget Constraints
To support the most vulnerable groups of the population — pensioners and internally displaced persons — additional payments of 1,500 UAH have been introduced. Approximately 9 million Ukrainians have already benefited from this assistance.
Svyrydenko emphasized that the government cannot afford to reduce or eliminate excise taxes or VAT on fuel due to a budget deficit, which currently stands at 52 billion USD.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has examined the situation in the fuel market and found no collusion regarding price increases. The rise in prices at gas stations is linked to increased demand, reduced supply, rising logistics costs, expectations of further increases in the cost of petroleum products, and the weakening of the hryvnia.