The president's decision to pay all citizens of Ukraine a thousand hryvnias has caused a mixed reaction in society.
1000 hryvnias from the state! With the beginning of winter, they want to give Ukrainians a gift – everyone should receive one thousand hryvnias. The planned payment has already been dubbed “Vovina's thousand” by the people, because there were already “Yulina” and “Vitina” at one time.
Who and when can receive the money and, most importantly, what it can be spent on – watch the exclusive TSN.UA.
“Vovina's thousand”
From December 1, Ukrainians will receive 1,000 UAH. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky, announcing a new program that will be noticeable for every family in Ukraine. The planned payment has already been dubbed “Vovina thousand” by the people.
It is planned that all Ukrainians – adults and children – will receive 1,000 UAH through the “ePidtrimka” program. That is, a family of five will have an additional 5,000 UAH. The funds can be spent on paying for Ukrainian goods and services.
Network reaction to 1000 UAH
The decision of President Volodymyr Zelensky to pay all citizens of Ukraine a thousand hryvnia has caused a mixed reaction in Ukrainian society. Opinion leaders, public figures and just users of social networks reacted either skeptically or with humor to this idea. All the pearls of Ukrainians can be summed up in one phrase – “The end of the era of poverty”.
However, most often commentators on social networks talk about the president's unjustified step, since 1,000 UAH is not a very large amount of aid, but on a national scale it is a significant expense that could be used more profitably during a full-scale war. Some consider it inappropriate to pay funds to all Ukrainians, thus comparing those who really need help with fairly wealthy people.
Most often in this context they recall the so-called “Yulina thousand” – populist payments from the time of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, which were supposedly supposed to cover the losses of depositors of the Soviet “Oschadbank”:
“The president obviously values PR and some electoral bonuses from the most crazy people who will spend their money on beer. That's why they pulled out an idea from the nightstand that smelled of populism and mothballs even during the time of Yulia Tymoshenko. Now I believe that the headquarters of the “Servants of the People” are preparing for the elections, that they are stupid. I wonder what they are hoping for, if only during this term so many territories and people were lost? And what is curious – even those where the figures for the “servants” and the president were over 90%. At the present time, all this Vova thousand is not any help. It is PR on blood and a bite of the already limited resources for defense.”
At the same time, some recall a recent example – the “ePidtrimka” program during the quarantine due to coronavirus infection, which was supposed to encourage citizens to get vaccinated. However, in this case, too, commentators draw attention to the depreciation of the hryvnia in 2024 compared to the currency in 2021. In one of the analyses, the commentator suggests that this benefit will be enough for one household for a few days, and the main beneficiaries of these payments will be grocery supermarkets, online casinos and DTEK, since the largest item of non-food household expenses is utility bills, of which electricity bills account for a large part.
But of course, it was not without the publication of memes on the topic of “Vova's thousand”.
What do economists say about the thousand hryvnia?
Economic expert Oleksandr Okhrimenko, in a comment to TSN.ua, stated that such payments are positive, although he agrees that there is a hint of PR in this:
“Of course, someone might say that one thousand hryvnia is not enough. But it is better than nothing. By the way, one thousand hryvnia was already paid during the coronavirus and it had positive reviews. I think that this payment will also be perceived positively, as a small gift from the state.”
He adds that people will use the funds received mainly to pay for utilities or to go to the cinema.
“I think that this will be useful for the economy – people will partially pay off their utility debts, spend these funds on things that are useful for Ukraine. I do not see any threats of price increases from this. Moreover, it would be good if such payments were made more often. For example, I would make them monthly, then they would be even more useful.”
The expert assures that this is not at all critical for the state budget:
“About 30 billion hryvnias are needed for these payments. This is not so much, if we allocate 2 trillion hryvnias for the needs of the war. Therefore, I think that it is quite possible and not bad if people pay off their utility debts by billions.”
NBU Council member Vasyl Furman is of the same opinion. He assessed the consequences of such a decision for the Ukrainian economy in an interview with Channel 24:
“I believe that the funds spent in our country to support Ukrainian producers are always positive. During the Great War, a number of different programs were introduced that clearly added their own multiplier effect to economic growth and GDP growth.”
In his opinion, such measures will have a positive effect on the Ukrainian economy:
“Personally, I support such events and advocate for more programs that can expand support for Ukrainian producers, who really need it during the war.”
What is the difference between “vovina thousand” and “yulina”?
Meanwhile, expert Alexander Okhrimenko adds that the exact payment mechanism is not yet known, namely: how children and pensioners who do not have bank cards will receive a thousand hryvnia. And he notes that “vovina thousand” differs from “yulina” and “vitina”:
“As for the “Yulina thousand”, it's something completely different. There they were connected with payments from Oschadbank for deposits lost during the Soviet era. And here it's more like compensation during the war, which, of course, has a PR component, as was the case with payments of a thousand hryvnias during the coronavirus. A similar payment model was even used, through “ePidtrimka”. Then people were paid money after they were vaccinated.”
He adds that these funds could be used to pay for utilities, buy Ukrainian books, go to the cinema, theater or museum. That is, to financially support the sphere affected by the quarantine. Now the funds can be spent on supporting Ukraine or transferred to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Not everyone will receive the funds?
At the same time, the RBC-Ukraine article says that not all Ukrainians will receive “Zelensky's thousand.” According to the publication, Ukrainian refugees abroad will not be able to receive the payment:
“Those who currently live abroad as refugees will not be able to receive the money. The transfer will be carried out after verification of the applicant's location.”
It is also known that the program for allocating UAH 1,000 in aid to Ukrainians, i.e. the Cabinet of Ministers will make a corresponding decision, is planned to be fully legalized by mid-November. This is being done so that people have time to apply for “National Cashback” cards before December 1.
Only those in need should pay
Economist and financial analyst Alexey Kushch notes that it is not worth paying funds to everyone, but only to those who really need it:
“I would send additional payments in the fourth quarter of 2024 to pensioners who receive a pension below the average, disabled people, large families, and refugees.”
He adds that such payments of funds to citizens are the most effective way to get the economy going “from the start” due to consumer demand:
“Instead of subsidies to individual companies, conduct a mass subsidy of consumption, and then the buyer himself will decide where to spend the money. The corruption component is completely leveled out here. And consumer demand in the modern economy is the main driver of growth.”
Where will the 1,000 UAH go?
According to the First Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksiy Sobolev, the promised funds will be deposited on a virtual card:
“Payments will be deposited on the National Cashback card. This is a virtual card that can be opened through Diya.”
He added that funds can also be issued for children, and the thousand hryvnia will be marked, that is, it can only be used for certain goods and services, and they can be used in December, January and February.
Read also:
- A thousand hryvnia for everyone from Zelensky: how will this affect the economy and where will take the money
- Ukrainians will receive a housing subsidy of 21,000 UAH: who are we talking about
- Kings and queens of the MSEK: who rakes in millions during the war
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