The Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine has announced that the October stage of the "Veteran Sports" program will not launch, and the agency is working on its continuation in 2027.
"Ukraine continues to live under conditions of full-scale war and a complex economic situation. The main priority of state expenditures remains the country's defense. Under these conditions, the capabilities of the state budget to finance other areas are limited. At the same time, the demand for the 'Veteran Sports' program turned out to be significantly higher than expected," the ministry's statement reads.
It is noted that in 2026, UAH 600 million was initially allocated for the program, calculated for 100,000 recipients quarterly. Accordingly, about 300,000 applications were expected across three quarters, but instead, the program was utilized more than 800,000 times.
Due to this high demand, additional funds were channeled into the program throughout the year, and in total, payments exceeding UAH 1.2 billion were made in 2026—more than double the initially projected amount.
"Thus, the program has already covered as many participants as the budget for this year allows. All designated funds have been directed toward payments, including those returned from previous periods. Since the available financial resource has been exhausted, additional funding is required to conduct the October stage. However, there is currently no possibility to allocate funds for it from the state budget. Therefore, unfortunately, the new application submission stage in Diia will not open in October, and payments of UAH 1,500 within this stage will not be made," the Ministry stated.
At the same time, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs stated that it is working to transition the program from an experimental format to a permanent basis in 2027.
As reported, on January 3, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers approved an experimental project introducing a quarterly allowance of UAH 1,500 for sports activities for combatants and persons with disabilities due to the war. Combatants could apply for the funds quarterly through the Diia mobile app.
