The government halted payments to cities for winter preparedness and energy protection

The Association of Ukrainian Cities stated that the government has halted payments allocated for municipalities to protect the energy sector, prepare for winter, and address the consequences of shelling.

As reported by Dilo, the Association of Ukrainian Cities conveyed this information.

It is noted that municipalities are receiving information about the suspension of payments from the local authorities.

The Association of Ukrainian Cities is raising questions about the alignment of the payment stop with the Law on the State Budget of Ukraine for the year 2026 and the possible consequences of such a decision for communities and residents, since cities must prepare for the heating season and implement resilience plans in the absence of the allocated funds.

Oksana Poddan, advisor to the head of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, noted that the government cannot unilaterally decide to make or not make the budgeted payments without a corresponding decision of the Verkhovna Rada.

"In a parliamentary-presidential republic, the government cannot afford to want to pay or not pay. The government cannot unilaterally halt these payments without a decision of the Verkhovna Rada, without Parliament," she emphasized.

Poddan noted that the Association of Ukrainian Cities unites 1092 communities, and all these communities are interested in effective preparation for the heating season and are waiting for government assistance, which today owes 85 billion hryvnias to heat supply enterprises.

"The money is not being returned and is not planned to be returned. But at least not harming - that is something the government can do without additional funding. If there are financial problems, if there are issues in the treasury account, the government must see this not today, yesterday, but in advance. Based on this, they are obliged to prepare changes to the state budget for the current year and come to Parliament with these changes for approval," Poddan explained.

What happened

As stated by the head of the Budget Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Roksolana Podlasa, expenditures of 39 billion hryvnias, including for the preparation of the energy sector for winter, planned for September–November, were postponed to December due to a lack of funds.

This also affects expenditures on implementing the "plans of resilience" and preparing for winter.

At the same time, the deputy noted that the deferral to December may mean that these programs may not be funded at all this year.

Earlier it was also reported that capital expenditures were postponed to the end of the year due to delays in international assistance.

Currently, due to budget deficit, Ukraine will finance only three areas: social expenditures, salaries of public sector workers, and maintenance of the military.