Cashbacks without money: how the West reacts to the new initiatives of the Cabinet of Ministers

Initiatives to pay 1,000 hryvnia to all citizens, including wealthy officials, look like PR campaigns rather than considered social support. This raises legitimate questions from the IMF and the European Union about the sources of financing for such programs.

This was reported on the air of “Pryamoy” by economic and political expert Pavlo Rozenko.

According to him, Western financial institutions express a lack of understanding of Kyiv’s economic policy, which combines budget deficits with massive cash handouts.

“We spend today on populist programs, on populist projects that we hear from the authorities every week, so 1,000 hryvnias should be distributed to everyone: judges, prosecutors, and those people who receive 50, 100, 150 thousand in salaries per month,” Rozenko noted.

At the same time, he added that the authorities often manipulate the topic of “IMF requirements”, although in fact Ukraine assumes all obligations voluntarily. Memorandums with the fund are signed by the president, the head of government and the head of the National Bank. According to Rozenko, instead of systemic changes, the Cabinet of Ministers proposes projects such as fuel cashback, which only disperses limited budget resources without achieving a real social effect.

In addition, the state risks being left without significant financial support from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund due to low implementation discipline. The analyst recalls that government structures have not fulfilled a key obligation under the Ukraine Facility program. This is a national assessment of money laundering risks, the implementation of which was entirely dependent on the State Financial Monitoring Service.

“Due to the failure to conduct an assessment within the framework of the program, Ukraine risks not receiving a significant part of the 50 billion euros in macro-financial assistance from the European Union for 2026-27,” emphasized Pavlo Rozenko, referring to data from internal government documents.

Recall that Ukrainians will be able to receive up to 15% cashback for purchasing fuel at gas stations. The funds received will be credited to a special card and will be used to pay for Ukrainian goods and services. The total volume of the new cashback program is estimated by the Ministry of Economy at approximately 3 billion hryvnias. The funds will be redistributed within the budget of the ministry.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko clarified that the support program for Ukrainians, which the government has prepared against the backdrop of a sharp increase in oil prices, will last for several weeks . According to her, payments will be made through the government program “National Cashback”. In general, the support program at Ukrainian gas stations that join it will be valid until May 1.

In addition, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the government is preparing new support programs for pensioners and people receiving social assistance. In particular, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine is to prepare assistance for April. At least 13 million Ukrainians will be able to receive additional payments of 1,500 hryvnias .

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