"Winter support" for frontline communities

During the heating season, families in frontline hromadas often face additional expenses for heating, electricity and other basic needs. To support people in such circumstances, the state has introduced one-off cash assistance of UAH 19,400 for this winter. The payment is available to certain vulnerable groups who actually reside in hromadas where hostilities are ongoing or have taken place. The procedure for providing the assistance was approved by Resolution No. 1084 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 3 September 2026.

Who can receive the assistance

To receive the payment, at least one member of the household must belong to a vulnerable category. These categories include:

1. a recipient of a disability pension or a person with an established disability;
2. a recipient of a housing subsidy for housing and utility services or for the purchase of liquefied gas, solid or liquid household fuel;
3. a single person of pensionable age who is unable to work;
4. an internally displaced person who has been granted a subsistence allowance;
5. a single mother receiving the relevant state assistance;
6. a child for whom childbirth assistance has been granted;
7. a child being raised in a large family;
8. a child with a disability or a person with a disability since childhood;
9. a recipient of certain types of state social assistance for care;
10. an orphan or a child deprived of parental care who is being raised in a foster family or family-type children's home;
11. a child placed with a patronage caregiver.

Important! UAH 19,400 is paid per household, not for each family member. Therefore, the amount of the payment does not depend on the number of people belonging to vulnerable categories within the same household.

Where the recipient must reside

Having the status of an IDP, a person with a disability or a member of a large family does not in itself provide eligibility for this assistance. On the date of application, the person must actually reside in one of the hromadas included in the lists approved by the Resolution. The assistance is not provided in occupied hromadas.

The place of residence may be confirmed, in particular, by an IDP certificate or a report confirming the person's actual place of residence if they are not registered at the relevant address.

Important! If, after submitting the application, a person leaves the hromada due to evacuation, they remain eligible for the Winter Support assistance for which they have already applied.

How to apply

Applications are accepted from 1 September to 30 October 2026.

An application may be submitted by one of the legally capable adult members of the household or by a legal representative (guardian, custodian or adoptive parent). The application is submitted at the person's registered or actual place of residence.

The following documents must be presented together with the application:

1. the applicant's passport and the passports of household members,
2. Taxpayer Registration Number (RNOKPP),
3. documents confirming the place of residence,
4. certificates or other documents confirming that the person belongs to a vulnerable category.

Documents can be submitted:

1. directly to a territorial office of the Pension Fund of Ukraine,
2. to an Administrative Service Centre (ASC),
3. to a local self-government body or military administration.

Due to the security situation in frontline hromadas, the Ministry of Social Policy recommends following information provided by the relevant local authority or the Pension Fund regarding the currently available method for collecting applications.

Important! The Pension Fund will verify information through the Unified Information System of the Social Sphere (UISSS). However, some data may occasionally be missing or displayed incorrectly in the system. To avoid delays in receiving the payment, it is advisable to attach copies of all documents confirming your eligibility for the assistance to the application.

How to receive the funds

The funds can be received:

— to a bank account by indicating its number (IBAN) in the application,

— in cash through the organisation responsible for paying and delivering pensions at the person's place of residence.

Additional support mechanism

To ensure that more people can access assistance, payments will also be provided by humanitarian organisations.

Under this mechanism, priority will apply: households whose members belong to several vulnerable categories at the same time will receive assistance first. The funds may be transferred to a bank account or provided through the Western Union payment system.

To receive assistance under this mechanism, a paper application must be submitted to a local self-government body or military administration.

Important! There is no need to apply under both mechanisms at the same time. Recipient data is exchanged between the systems, and assistance is provided only once per household, regardless of the source of the payment.

Lawyers on the PravoVsim platform provide free legal consultations, including on challenging decisions refusing to grant assistance, as well as actions or inaction by the Pension Fund authorities.