Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Oksana Zholnovych has said that the real poverty line is 2.6 times higher than the actual one, and it is about UAH 6,500.

"According to our estimates, about 2.6 times more than the one provided, that is, about UAH 6,500. But in this matter, the household should be considered. If this is one person, then he needs somewhere these UAH 6,000 to pay rent, maintenance and utilities bills. If there are two or three people, then with each subsequent person the amount decreases. It should be understood that this line cannot be derived linearly for each person, it is necessary to consider households. But it is clear that the approved one is less than the real one," Zholnovych said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

According to the minister, the government is now working on filling the budget to implement the planned increase in the poverty line in December, since it has already been budgeted.

As for the traditional inflationary increase in the poverty line next year, Zholnovych said that the Ministry of Social Policy will calculate the poverty line, taking into account the existing inflation and submit it to the Ministry of Finance.

"But we are only part of the budget, we do not earn this money, so I don't know what the planned receipts will be and what will be withdrawn taking into account the possibilities," she said.

Regarding possible plans for a significant increase in the poverty line to bring it closer to the real one, the minister said that so far the authorities do not plan to radically revise the standards that are laid down in the current budget.

"Yes, we must fulfill guarantees at the level of at least the minimum standards for survival. But on the other hand, there is a rule that provides that the state can provide a certain level of assistance based on its general financial situation. That is, if you do not have it, then you cannot give more: none of the mathematics rules has been repealed. Today, we have the war, and we cannot reject it, get around it and ignore it. All available costs are directed to the maximum extent possible for military needs," Zholnovych added.

Also, according to her, in the future it is necessary to reform the poverty line system, detaching it from a number of non-typical payments.

"We definitely need to detach the existing poverty line from what was imposed on it, for example, fines, payments for various licenses, pensions for judges and some special bodies. All this greatly affects the budget balance... Therefore, there are bills registered in the Verkhovna Rada that provide for that the poverty line should relate to social guarantees, only payments and benefits, and should not be a value that affects any other expenses," the minister said.

As reported, the state budget provides that the poverty line (for able-bodied persons) in the current year from July is UAH 2,600, and in December it should grow to UAH 2,684.