In Lviv, salary payments to utility workers are at risk due to the Treasury being frozen

In Lviv, delays in treasury payments have caused problems with the payment of salaries to employees of municipal utilities, the operation of public transportation, and the construction of infrastructure projects. As of October 28, the State Treasury had not processed 4,231 payments for the Lviv community totaling 901.7 million hryvnias. Of this amount, 554.1 million hryvnias are development budget funds.

According to him, the problem lies not in a lack of funds in the local budget, but in the inability to access them in a timely manner.

 

“The city has the money. It’s sitting in the accounts, but the Treasury isn’t processing the payments. First and foremost, this affects the people who do work for the city,” says Sadovyi.

Delays in Treasury payments are already affecting the operations of municipal utilities. According to Andriy Sadovyi, utility workers and street cleaners are beginning to quit due to unpaid wages.

To continue operations and avoid disruptions, these enterprises are forced to accumulate debt and take out loans.

Problems with payments could also affect Lviv’s public transportation system. As the mayor noted, payment delays pose the risk of reducing the number of buses and trams on routes.

In addition, the situation is complicating the implementation of major construction projects, where adherence to technical deadlines is crucial.

Among the projects now at risk is the new overpass at the intersection of Shevchenko and Kovcha Streets.

Andriy Sadovyi emphasized that city authorities understand the priority of defense funding during wartime. At the same time, he said, local communities must also fulfill their obligations to residents, ensure the operation of critical infrastructure, and prepare for winter.

“We understand the complexity of the situation in the country and the need to fund defense. At the same time, local communities also have their own obligations—maintaining critical infrastructure, paying salaries, supporting the military, carrying out repairs, and preparing for winter,” Andriy Sadovyi emphasized.

Lviv expects the government and the Ministry of Finance to establish a clear and predictable mechanism for treasury payments. This would allow communities to plan their expenditures, pay contractors on time, and ensure the uninterrupted operation of municipal services.

The problem is not limited to Lviv. According to the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC), delays in payments from local budget accounts have affected communities in all regions of the country.

The total amount of unpaid treasury payments, according to AUC estimates, is approximately 20 billion hryvnias.

The government attributes the delays to a shortage of funds in the single treasury account and the need to prioritize defense spending.

This was reported by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi.

Currently, the State Treasury Service of Ukraine is resuming the processing of Lviv’s payment orders; approximately 20% of critically important payments have been processed. The Treasury is currently processing payments submitted by September 21, 2026, while later documents remain pending.

Andriy Sadovyi previously warned of the risk of a collapse in the city’s municipal infrastructure due to payment delays by the State Treasury Service. According to the mayor, as of October 19, more than 1.086 billion hryvnias in city funds had been frozen, leading to wage arrears and employees leaving municipal enterprises.

On October 1, the city officially appealed to the prime minister and relevant ministers. This situation affects not only Lviv but also other cities in Ukraine, which is why the Association of Cities has also appealed to the government.

In Lviv, private transit operators announced a partial suspension of service on city bus routes due to delayed payments for subsidized transportation. Due to a lack of funds, companies do not have enough money for fuel, and wage arrears have accumulated for employees.