The idea of payments of 1,000 UAH is not innovative.
A new social program will start in Ukraine on December 1, which will be aimed at helping families. The spending of an additional UAH 30 billion is taking place against the backdrop of the difficult decisions that have just been made to raise taxes and borrow.
TSN.ua has collected everything that is known about President Volodymyr Zelensky's initiative.
Zelensky instructed the government to introduce a new program from October 1 that every family in Ukraine will be able to benefit from. The “E-support” program is intended for both adults and children.
According to him, the state is currently preparing for the coming months, including winter, at all levels. In addition to systemic things, there will be decisions made to support people.
“A thousand hryvnias per person – for a family this will come to several thousand hryvnias, and the money can be spent on paying for Ukrainian goods and services, including utilities, electricity. Tickets are Ukrzaliznytsia. Ukrainian medicines,” Zelensky explained.
While Internet users create memes and joke, economists criticize the decision. They say that such generosity will not change anything for the economy.
What the experts say
Sergey Fursa, an investment banker, called Zelensky's decision caveman populism and inefficient use of resources.
“This is an attempt to appease society after the prosecutors and the Medical and Social Expertise Commission. No, this could not be used for the army. This will come from the part of the budget that is intended “not for the defense sector,” the expert noted.
Fursa predicts that such a scattering of money could lead to inflation and is interested in how the National Bank, which is fighting it, will react to this.
The National Bank did not comment on the president's decision.
Roman Sulzhik, a financier, former banker at JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank, believes that the funds allocated to Ukraine by its partners could be spent much more effectively — paying 200 thousand UAH per month for life to everyone who became disabled during military operations, defending the country, or paying money to the families of the military.
“This would be right, and would show that the authorities understand that the greatest stress in society now is precisely because people are afraid to join the army — partly because they do not believe that anyone will support them or their families if they sacrifice themselves for all of us,” says Roman Sulzhyk.
Ivan Us, a candidate of economic sciences and chief consultant at the Center for Foreign Policy Research at the National Institute for Strategic Studies, told Suspilne that, in his opinion, the goal of Zelensky's initiative is to give citizens the opportunity to hold out, having certain resources, against the backdrop of Russia's attempts to cause significant damage to the domestic energy sector.
“This is happening immediately after the information about receiving foreign aid and, most likely, this issue was agreed upon with partners, so that this aid will be spent not only on military purposes, but also on supporting Ukrainian citizens,” Us said.
He noted that there has not yet been a clear statement from the government that funds for the initiative will go specifically through foreign aid.
The parliament does not have the authority to prohibit the issuance of money to Ukrainians at the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelensky. A separate law is needed for this, or such expenses can be provided for in the state budget. This was stated on air by Yaroslav Ruschyshyn, a people's deputy from the Holos party and secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development, on Radio Liberty.
“I think the Cabinet of Ministers was also shocked by this proposal from the president, which, by the way, is not within his competence. They were no less shocked, since they could have offered a place or an investment that would have had much more (leverage of influence – ed.), or a much greater multiplier effect on the economy. Of course, it is right to give money to people who are low-income, since they generally do not save, and those funds immediately return to the economy,” he said.
The people's deputy believes that handing out money will not have a positive effect on the economy. At the same time, it can have social consequences. Ruschyshyn says that this decision is “absurd.”
How to open a card to receive a thousand from Zelensky
In your bank's application, open a card for the National Cashback payment– it can be either a virtual or a physical card. If you use cards from several banks, you can include them all in the program.
- Make sure that all cards are connected to the National Cashback program.
- Download the latest version of the Diya app.
- In the Diya app, select National Cashback and connect the created card to the program.
What can you spend Zelensky's thousand on
The funds can be spent on paying for Ukrainian goods and services, including utilities, books, Ukrzaliznytsia tickets, medicines, etc. It is also possible to donate this money to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Recall:
In 2008, then-Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko sent UAH 1,000 to people who lost money in the Soviet Sberbank of the USSR. At that time, UAH 5 billion was spent on payments.
In 2012, this decision was copied by Viktor Yanukovych, and the people immediately nicknamed this initiative “Vitya's Thousand”.
Then Ukrainians received a thousand hryvnia from the state, which was informally called “Vitya's Thousand”, and officially “e-Support”. This was in 2021, at the height of the covid pandemic. The money was allocated to fully vaccinated Ukrainians on virtual payment cards through “Diyu”.
Then the government allocated 8 billion for this. The program funds could only be spent on books, services in the field of culture, sports or passenger transportation.