On November 4, the Ukrainian government supported a draft decision to resume the monthly bonus program for workers involved in restoring critical infrastructure objects following Russian attacks. This was announced by Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky and First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal in their Telegram statements, referenced by RBC-Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Energy, state assistance will be provided from November to March inclusive.
Decision Made on Direct Instructions from the President
Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky emphasized that the Cabinet of Ministers made the decision on additional payments to specialists upon the direct instruction of the President of Ukraine. This decision became a continuation of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's public statement made on November 2, when the head of state promised that Ukrainian power engineers would receive monthly bonuses "just like last year." "Everyone involved in these repairs needs monthly bonuses so that people feel society values what they do and how they work," Zelenskyy stated.
Scale of Destruction: Over 2,000 Strikes Since August
Koretsky cited data on the scale of damage that makes the bonus program necessary. According to him, starting from August, more than 2,000 strikes on Ukraine's infrastructure have been recorded. "Power transmission lines and open network elements are being destroyed, significantly complicating the situation. We have to restore them over and over again, in volumes many times larger than in all previous years," the prime minister noted. It is the repeated nature of the damage and the need for continuous repair amidst ongoing attacks that determine the workload on repair crews.
Who Will Receive Bonuses and in What Amount
First Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal detailed the program's parameters: power engineers, utility workers, and railway workers who are part of the brigades restoring war-damaged facilities will receive 30,000 hryvnias monthly. The Ministry of Energy developed a draft decision to resume the program, which was supported by the government on November 4. The payments are designed for the period from November to March—that is, the most intensive winter period when the load on the power system is at its maximum and field working conditions are most difficult.
Context: Separate Support Program Since January 2026
The decision to resume bonuses is not isolated. Back in January 2026, the government introduced a separate support program for energy workers who worked in repair and restoration brigades during the winter period. At that time, it concerned specialists who worked around the clock in difficult conditions, restoring the energy system across all regions of Ukraine. The current decision effectively extends and anchors this practice for the new autumn-winter season, expanding the circle of recipients to utility and railway workers.
What This Means for the Restoration System
The restoration of bonuses under conditions where the volume of destruction repeatedly exceeds the figures of previous years is designed to solve two tasks: to retain qualified specialists in repair crews and to ensure proactive infrastructure restoration that struggles to keep pace with the rate of new damage. For workers forced to repeatedly repair the same power lines and network elements, the monthly payment of 30,000 hryvnias becomes an instrument of motivation and recognition of their labor in conditions where the standard salary does not reflect the real volume and complexity of the tasks performed.
