Fake currency surge: fake money in Ukraine up 62% compared to 2023
Source: Minfin
Ukraine is dealing with a rise in counterfeit money, with both hryvnia and foreign banknotes being affected.
Over the last 6 months, 4 banknotes out of 1 million were forged, which marks a staggering 62% increase compared to 2023.
The trajectory is definitely negative as the year of 2022 saw just 2.2 counterfeits per million, while this number in 2023 stood at 2.1.
The National Bank of Ukraine said there had been a brief spike in counterfeiting activity in April and May this year as money forgers were obviously ‘adapting to wartime conditions’.
Ukrainian bankers though play down the issue arguing the pre-war counterfeiting rate stood at 7.1 counterfeit banknotes per million. considers it moderate, as before the full-scale invasion, the rate was 7.1 counterfeits per million.
Unsurprisingly, 95% of the counterfeit foreign currency seized in Ukraine were US dollars with $100 note being the most frequently counterfeited denomination. When it comes to hryvnas, counterfeiters prefer to defraud Ukrainians with 200 and 500 hryvna banknotes.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
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After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
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