Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity Denys Hulyatin, in an interview with LB.ua referenced by RBC-Ukraine, clarified the key condition of the new winter program: the funds of 19,400 hryvnias that Ukrainians from the most vulnerable categories will receive are not tied to specific goods or services. According to the minister, the recipient decides how to allocate the payment — the state does not restrict the area of expenditure. This is a fundamental difference from targeted subsidies, where the money can only be used for pre-determined needs.
What the 19,400 hryvnias can be spent on
Authorities emphasize that the payment is universal in nature and is intended to prepare households for the heating season. According to the minister's position, the money may be spent on purchasing fuel and firewood, buying warm clothing, paying utility bills, as well as on any other needs related to the approach of winter. Thus, the program accounts for different expenditure structures depending on the region, type of housing, and family composition, without imposing a single spending scenario.
How the program is financed and who its participants are
The project is financed through a special humanitarian account at the National Bank of Ukraine, to which funds are directed by international donors. To coordinate the payments, the state and humanitarian partners have developed unified frameworks: all parties operate under the same rules across different territories, which should eliminate duplication and gaps in coverage. The benefit is paid per household, not per individual. Within the framework of the program, the state and international partners jointly identified the 11 most vulnerable categories of citizens entitled to support.
Who is entitled and how to apply
To receive financial assistance, an application must be submitted by October 30; this can be done in several ways provided for by the program rules. In terms of coverage, the initiative extends to families living in areas of active combat operations, as well as within 50 kilometers of the front line or the state border. The expansion of geography in 2026 deserves separate attention: if previously the assistance was mainly addressed to residents of private houses who needed heating firewood, the program now also covers the urban population, including those living in apartment buildings.
Contradictory data
The information space simultaneously features different amounts of state and humanitarian assistance: the basis of the material and the minister's statement refer to 19,400 hryvnias as the winter payment per household, while a number of other publications (for example, materials on payments of 6,500 hryvnias) indicate different benefit sizes. These figures relate to different support instruments and different payment periods, so they should not be mixed into a single sum. Until an official clarification on a unified mechanism, readers should refer to 19,400 hryvnias specifically as the amount of winter assistance under the program in question and verify current amounts in official sources when submitting an application.
