The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine plans that in 2025, a one-time cash assistance of 1000 hryvnias will be received by about 10 million citizens. This was announced by the Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity, Denys Uliutin, while commenting on the budget of the “Winter Support” program for Ukrainians.
This is reported by Finway
Program Budget and Target Support Groups
Approximately 10 billion hryvnias are allocated in the state budget for the one-time assistance payment of 1000 hryvnias. An additional 4.4 billion is earmarked for targeted payments of 6500 hryvnias to those most affected by the war or who are in difficult life circumstances.
“The Ministry of Social Policy is focused on supporting people in difficult life situations, families with children, internally displaced persons, people with disabilities, and the elderly. In total, there are about 15 million people in Ukraine receiving some form of state support. The funds allocated for the 1000 hryvnias payments under the government’s ‘winter support’ program take into account the needs of these people. This includes payment for utilities, medications, and warm clothing or footwear,” Uliutin noted.
The payments are aimed at supporting the most vulnerable categories of the population, including internally displaced persons, people with disabilities, families with children, and elderly citizens. The funds can be used for paying utility bills, purchasing medications, warm clothing, or footwear.
Program Start and Conditions for Receiving Aid
As explained by Denys Uliutin, applications for the 1000 hryvnias assistance will be accepted from November 15 to December 15, 2025. After this period, the gradual disbursement of funds to recipients will begin. The duration during which this assistance can be utilized is preliminarily set at six months, but this term has not yet been finalized.
Compared to last year, when one-time assistance was received by over 14 million Ukrainians, this year a lower number of applications is expected due to the shortened application period. According to Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, in 2024, most recipients spent these funds on utility payments.
The Prime Minister also commented on the criticism of the “Winter Support” program on social media, noting that similar remarks were made last year when the initiative was first introduced.
She emphasized: “I do not consider this populism. The war continues, we are not becoming wealthier, and this program is meant to support people during the winter period.”
Last winter, funds from the “Winter eSupport” program were credited to a special card, which could be opened at partner banks until the end of the winter period. These funds could be used to pay for utilities, buy medications, transportation services, mobile communication, books from Ukrainian publishers, and it was also possible to transfer money to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Funds for new support programs are already included in the budget of the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity for 2025. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the preparation of additional assistance programs for Ukrainians during the winter period of 2025-2026.