Payments to the military

From February 1, the remuneration for the military is changing, now it will depend on the place, conditions and features of the service.

The size of the reward for soldiers who are directly on the battlefield does not change.

The size of the reward will be reduced for military and law enforcement officers who are outside the combat zone, far in the rear, and do not perform tasks in the east, south or north of the country.

Most likely, they will be charged an additional payment of 30,000 hryvnias per month.

The changes concern "military servicemen and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who are outside the combat zone in various regions of Ukraine, conscripts and cadets of high schools, officers of departments and headquarters, as well as some other categories."

As reported in the joint statement of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine, from now on the payment of rewards will depend on:

• from the areas where military personnel stay,

• the complexities and specifics of the combat or special tasks they perform.

As emphasized by the Ministry of Defense, 100,000 hryvnias per month will be received by Ukrainian fighters on the front lines, as well as families of prisoners and missing persons.

The Ministry of Defense reports that for the military, the financial support cannot be less than UAH 20,100 per month, and for policemen and rescue workers, it cannot be less than UAH 17,000 per month.

Martial law

On February 24, 2022, martial law and general mobilization were introduced in Ukraine.

On November 16, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada extended martial law in the country for three months, that is, until February 19, 2023.

However, most likely, martial law will be extended again for another 90 days.

Monetization of subsidies

The Pension Fund of Ukraine cancels the non-cash payment of benefits and subsidies, as of February 1, 2023, they will be calculated automatically.

That is, subsidies will come in the form of money — they will be paid to pension accounts in banks or together with pension payments at Ukrposhta.

If the recipient of the subsidy has not opened a bank account or has not indicated to which account these payments should be transferred, the Pension Fund will automatically charge the funds to the accounts opened by the fund in "Oschadbank".

To get money, you need to contact Oschadbank, as well as open a personal account in it or another bank.

You can also receive money at Ukrposhta.

And now you will have to pay for the utility bill yourself with the funds received from the state to a special bank account in Oschadbank or through a branch of Ukrposhta.

Home delivery of subsidies, as it was before, is canceled for all but pensioners.

Exchange of LED lamps

In February, Ukrainians can replace old incandescent lamps with new LED lamps for free. 

Ukrposhta branches can replace five old incandescent lamps with the same number of energy-saving LED lamps.

You can go to "Ukrposhta" and exchange incandescent lamps for LED bulbs", or you can leave an application in advance in the "Diya" application, and then pick them up at "Ukrposhta". The application made through "Diya" will be valid for 5 days , then you need to apply again.

To get the lamps, you need to come with your passport and tax code.

In the case of pre-ordering through Diya, the light bulbs can be received immediately at the post office, if available.

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By the end of February, it is planned to issue lamps not only in cities, but also in rural post offices.

Payments to displaced persons

As of February 1, 2023, the categories of immigrants who are entitled to receive housing assistance have been clarified.

This is reported by the Ministry of Reintegration. 

When assigning payments, the territories will be:

• possible hostilities,

• active hostilities,

• occupied by Russia, on which the date of the end of the fighting or temporary occupation has not been determined.

Thus, those who moved to the West of Ukraine from areas where hostilities were fought and whose homes remained intact may be deprived of payments. 

We would like to remind you that the monthly state housing allowance for IDPs is UAH 2,000 for adults and UAH 3,000 for children and people with disabilities.

Tariffs for communal services

During the martial law in Ukraine, tariffs for communal services are frozen.

At the end of 2022, the NCRECP planned to increase the tariff for water supply and drainage, but canceled the decision even before it could take effect.

Therefore, the tariff for water supply and drainage remains at the level of the beginning of 2022.

Electricity is also paid according to established tariffs, which depend on the number of kilowatts consumed - if less than 250 kilowatt-hours are consumed, the tariff is 1.44 hryvnias, if more - 1.64 hryvnias.

New rules for testing for intoxication

The process of checking drivers for intoxication in Ukraine has changed.

As the representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada, Taras Melnychuk, said, now he must pass with the participation of two witnesses or under video recording. 

This rule applies to checking for alcohol and drug intoxication and the influence of drugs that reduce attention and reaction speed while driving.

The permissible level of alcohol in the blood is up to 0.2 ppm.

Penalties for drunk driving have not changed since 2021.

Read also:

• Military registration at enterprises and organizations: it has become more difficult to avoid reporting to the military commissariat

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