The Association of Ukrainian Cities called on Koretsky to immediately unblock payments to local communities to help them prepare for winter
The Association of Ukrainian Cities has appealed to Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky, calling on him to immediately unblock payments to local communities—which are needed, in particular, to prepare for the heating season, to ensure the operation of medical, educational, and social institutions, and to restore damaged infrastructure. This is stated in a letter from the AMU Board dated October 1, 2026.
According to the Association, since September 9, 2026, local governments—despite having funds in their accounts and ensuring that payments comply with the requirements of Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 590—have been unable to make a number of payments.
The Association of Ukrainian Cities noted: “Despite the presence of funds in municipal accounts and the compliance of their payments with Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 590, as of September 9, 2026, communities have been blocked from purchasing fuel for vehicles used to provide medical assistance or clear debris after shelling. Payments for work and equipment for medical, educational, and social institutions, as well as preparations for the heating season and the implementation of resilience plans, have been suspended. “It is impossible to prepare ‘Points of Resilience’ or repair infrastructure and energy facilities damaged by shelling,” the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC) noted.
The Association of Ukrainian Cities emphasized that blocking payments to local governments could affect the operations of critical services and institutions.
In an appeal to Serhiy Koretskyi, the AMU stated: “Blocking local governments’ payments to energy and fuel suppliers, repair crews, waste management companies, and others leads to consequences that the aggressor has been unable to achieve through shelling since the start of the full-scale invasion.”
The AMU also stated that without the immediate unblocking of payments, obstacles could be created for the operation of state and international institutions, as well as educational, medical, and social facilities in communities across Ukraine.
The AMU Board called on Serhiy Koretskyi to halt the imposition of penalties on communities for loan defaults and late payments if such delays arose due to the absence of an official decision to block payments.
In addition, the Prime Minister was urged to initiate proceedings to hold government officials accountable whose actions or inaction, according to the AMU, have brought the country’s utility services to a standstill.
The problem with municipal funding arose following the Ministry of Finance’s decision to defer 39 billion hryvnias in capital expenditures—which were supposed to be funded in September, October, and November—to December.
This was previously reported by Roksolana Pidlasa, chair of the Verkhovna Rada’s Budget Committee. According to her, this specifically concerns safeguarding the energy sector ahead of the heating season, the construction of shelters in schools and hospitals, the renovation of medical facilities, and social housing.
According to Pidlasa, the government continues to fund social expenditures, including salaries for public sector employees; however, postponing part of the capital expenditures until December poses risks to their actual funding in 2026.
Earlier, Oksana Prodan, an advisor to the head of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, stated that without a decision by the Verkhovna Rada, the government cannot independently suspend payments provided for in the state budget.
“Therefore, without a decision by the Verkhovna Rada in a parliamentary-presidential republic, the government cannot simply decide—whether it wants to or not—to pay or not to pay,” Oksana Prodan emphasized.
This was reported by “Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.”
As a reminder, Ukraine is entering the heating season better prepared than last year, the prime minister said. At the same time, he stressed that the winter will not be easy, despite additional generating capacity, backup power, and enhanced infrastructure protection.
Earlier, Koretsky promised that payments to military personnel would be made consistently and in full.
In Ukraine’s draft state budget for 2027, the base pay for military personnel was left at approximately 20,000 hryvnias.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed as an urgent law a measure introducing payments of 50,000 hryvnias for military personnel released from captivity.
