125,000 Ukrainians settle in the Chernobyl zone during the war for state benefits
Source: Forbes Ukraina
The Feb.24 invasion saw thousands of peopl moving house to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone as it allowed them to claim monthly government payments, which cost Ukraine’s budget some 15 billion hryvnias annually.
Since 2022, courts have been granting benefits to individuals registered in the radiation-contaminated zone, even if they lack official status as victims of the Chernobyl disaster or liquidators. This has led to a startling surge in benefit recipients—from 10,000 to 135,400.
Law enforcement discovered cases where people deliberately registered in the zone, often in abandoned buildings, with dozens of individuals often listed in a single apartment.
Deputy Minister of Social Policy Daryna Marchak said the benefit issue is putting a serious strain on the country’s financesthe financial strain.
To address the problem, the 2025 budget includes a provision restricting payments to individuals who resided in the Chernobyl zone between 1986 and 1993.
Amendments to Ukraine’s enforcement proceedings legislation, initiated by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, have entered into force. Among other measures, the reform provides for the automated lifting of attachments on bank accounts immediately after debts in enforcement proceedings have been fully settled. The main practical benefit for citizens is the complete elimination of the need to contact an enforcement officer in person and wait for paper decisions once the debt has been paid.
The 157th Separate Mechanized Brigade has received another batch of supplies as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front military initiative. This time, the military received seven quad bikes and four mobile shower and bath units.
In my previous column, I wrote about social innovations in Ukraine. Those innovations are part of civic resilience and the democratization of security, which Europe is paying close attention to right now. The EU is trying to work out how to spread responsibility for its own security across society as a whole, rather than leaving it to institutions alone. It is looking for concrete ways to bring ordinary people into the work of defense and resistance.
Petro Poroshenko’s lawyers have appealed to the High Anti-Corruption Court demanding that NABU be obligated to register proceedings regarding the fact of exerting influence on the court and to recognize Petro Poroshenko as a victim in the case of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, due to her pressure on Supreme Court judges who were considering a lawsuit to overturn sanctions.
Internationally recognized brands and financial institutions should direct capital to Ukraine now, not waiting for the hostilities to end. This was emphasized by Rinat Akhmetov, president of FC Shakhtar, during a working visit to UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where he met with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.