Mykolaiv City Council has outlined how it plans to reduce queues for «Winter Support»
- Alina KvitkoReporter
A queue outside the social welfare department in Mykolaiv to apply for «Winter Support». Photo: NikVestiDue to the long queues for «Winter Support» in Mykolaiv, another application centre is to be opened. It is due to open on Tuesday at 51 Pivdenna Street. The Department of Social Protection says that some of the people in the queues do not, in fact, fall into the categories eligible for the payment.
Nadiya Skopenko, acting director of the Mykolaiv City Council’s Department of Labour and Social Protection, spoke about this in a comment to NikVesti.
Applications are currently being accepted at four district social protection offices. In recent days, long queues have formed outside these offices — residents say they arrive as early as the night before to secure a place in the queue.
According to Nadiia Skopenko, the mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, and the first deputy mayor, Vitalii Lukov, have decided to open another reception point at 51 Pivdenna Street.
«A decision has been made to set up an additional reception point at 51 Pivdenna Street. From Tuesday, we will carry out preparatory work and will also be receiving people there,» said Nadiia Skopenko.
A separate reception service will be organised for people receiving support from the municipal territorial centre, in particular attendees of the University of the Third Age. They will be received at the district territorial centres. The department hopes that this will also help to ease the workload.
According to Nadiia Skopenko, the acceptance of documents began last Friday. Since then, applications have already been accepted from around 2,500 people. Some residents have been booked in for subsequent days.
There is no electronic queue system at the offices. Instead, staff go out to meet people, explain which documents are required, and book them in for an available slot, issuing a ticket.
«We physically go out, explain which documents are required, and book them in for an appointment. Those who are eligible and have a full set of documents enter the office, where their applications are accepted,» explained Nadiya Skopenko.
There are currently no plans to involve the city’s Administrative Service Centres (ASC) in processing applications. Nadiia Skopenko explained that they provide other administrative services, and a large additional influx of people could overwhelm their workload. Furthermore, during air raid alerts, the ASCs suspend their services.
Who is eligible for 19,400 hryvnias
«Winter Support» is a one-off cash payment for vulnerable families living in frontline areas. The payment amounts to 19,400 hryvnias per household, regardless of the number of household members or the number of priority groups to which they belong. Applications can be submitted until 30 October 2026.
As Nadiia Skopenko explained, not all pensioners, people with disabilities, internally displaced persons or single mothers are entitled to this assistance.
In particular, applications may be made by households that include recipients of disability pensions, housing subsidies, child support for single mothers, childbirth grants, support for large families and living allowances for IDPs.
The list also includes recipients of state social assistance for people with disabilities since childhood and children with disabilities, people who are not entitled to a pension, certain recipients of a care allowance, as well as families raising orphans and children deprived of parental care, and families of foster carers.
People who, at the time of application, are not receiving the relevant payments but have a recognised disability, belong to a large family, or are single, incapacitated people of pensionable age may also be entitled to assistance. In such cases, their status must be confirmed by documentary evidence.
Nadiia Skopenko specifically emphasised that the status of a single mother does not, in itself, entitle the person to automatic assistance. The list specifically refers to recipients of state child benefit for single mothers. Similarly, the payment is not intended for all displaced persons, but for recipients of IDP subsistence allowances.
She explained the situation regarding single elderly people separately.
«These are elderly people who live alone and have no children of working age. Who are these children of working age? They are children who have not reached retirement age and are not people with disabilities,» explained Nadiia Skopenko.
According to her, many people are currently approaching the departments believing they are entitled to the benefit, even though they do not meet the specified criteria.
It is precisely this, in the opinion of the acting director of the department, that is also causing the queues to grow.
«They consider themselves to be single pensioners, but they have able-bodied children who, under Ukrainian law, are obliged to support them. They are not entitled to the benefit. This is the majority of people currently queuing at our offices,» said Nadiia Skopenko.
The department expects the rush to begin to subside in the near future. Nadiia Skopenko believes that people will gradually come to grips with the programme’s conditions and will start arriving with their applications already prepared and a full set of documents.
«People will now come with a full set of documents and a completed application form. And this will speed things up. I believe that the number of people will gradually decrease by 1 October,» said Nadiia Skopenko.
She also clarified that Mykolaiv is included in the second list of communities covered by the programme. The aid for them is funded by international partners, so submitting an application does not mean automatic receipt of 19,400 hryvnias — applications and eligibility for the specified categories will still be assessed.
As a reminder, residents of Mykolaiv had previously complained about long queues outside social security offices. People said they were forced to queue up as early as the night before. In particular, in the Inhulskyi district, there were reports of paper queuing lists from 3 am, and one local woman said that her 90-year-old father arrived at 5.30 am and was already 191st in the queue.