Government to hand out $34 per person to 13 million Ukrainians, Zelensky says
The Ukrainian government is planning to hand out Hr 1,500 ($34) per person to pensioners and other groups eligible for social assistance, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 12.
“We have agreed with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, (Economy Minister) Oleksii Sobolev and (Social Policy Minister) Denys Uliutin to prepare several (financial) support programs for Ukrainians," he wrote on Telegram.
Zelensky said that at least 13 million Ukrainians are expected to receive the handouts.
Ukraine's Social Policy Ministry is expected to prepare the program in April, he added.
Zelensky also said that the economy and energy ministries are expected to draft a separate program to provide financial assistance to Ukrainians due to increases in fuel prices caused by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
The announcement follows other similar financial assistance programs initiated in recent years. Critics have dismissed them as populist measures intended to boost the support for Zelensky among poorer citizens.
In 2021, the Zelensky administration launched a program to provide 1,000 hryvnias ($37 at the time) to all citizens vaccinated against COVID-19.
Zelensky also launched a social support program in 2024 to hand out Hr 1,000 ($25) to every Ukrainian citizen who wished to apply.
The initiatives were colloquially known as "Vova's thousand" — an allusion to "Yulia's thousand", a similar financial assistance program carried out by then Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko from 2007 to 2010.
