Koretskyi has blocked payments and is leading Ukraine’s regions towards economic disaster, - AUC
The Association of Ukrainian Cities has appealed to Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi, urging the government to immediately release the funds required, in particular for preparations for winter.
Oksana Prodan, an adviser to the head of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, has already stated that by freezing the allocation of funds to local authorities, the Cabinet of Ministers is breaking the law.
This was reported by Censor.NET
"Despite funds being available in municipal accounts, and provided their payments comply with CMU Resolution No. 590, since 9 September 2026 local authorities have been prevented from purchasing fuel for vehicles deployed to provide medical assistance or clear rubble following shelling. Payments for works and equipment for medical, educational and social institutions, preparations for the heating season and the implementation of resilience plans have been suspended. It is not possible to prepare ‘Points of Resilience’ or to repair infrastructure and energy facilities damaged by shelling," the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC) noted.
In its appeal to Mr Koretskyi, the Association of Ukrainian Cities emphasised that blocking payments to local authorities for the above-mentioned services – and others – is leading to consequences that "the aggressor has been unable to achieve through shelling since the start of the full-scale invasion".
The AUC emphasised to the Prime Minister that if the Cabinet of Ministers does not immediately unblock payments to local authorities, it will destroy the conditions necessary for state and international institutions, as well as educational, medical and social establishments, to operate in Ukraine.
The AUC Executive Board called on Koretskyi to halt the imposition of fines on local authorities for non-repayment of loans and late payments, given the absence of an official decision to block payments. They also urged the Prime Minister to initiate proceedings to hold government officials accountable for bringing the country’s entire utility services to a standstill.
Earlier, Roksolana Pidlasa, chair of the Verkhovna Rada’s Budget Committee, reported that the Ministry of Finance had deferred 39 billion hryvnias in capital expenditure until December. This is precisely the funding that was intended for safeguarding the energy sector ahead of the heating season, the construction of shelters in schools and hospitals, the refurbishment of medical facilities, and social housing. According to Pidlasa, the government continues to fund social expenditure, in particular salaries for public sector workers. However, the budgetary situation remains strained. The postponement of capital expenditure until the end of the year, she said, effectively means that it will not be funded this year.
In response, Oksana Prodan emphasised that the state budget is the law by which the government, all ministries and the Ministry of Finance operate. Therefore, added the adviser to the AUC chairman, in a parliamentary-presidential republic, without a decision by the Verkhovna Rada, the government cannot simply choose – whether it wants to or not, whether to pay or not to pay.
Moreover, the issue of debts owed directly to heating suppliers has been ongoing for several years. At the end of 2025, the AUC reported that the state had failed to reimburse heating suppliers for the difference in tariffs amounting to over 64 billion hryvnias, and that the accounts of heating suppliers in 14 local authorities had been frozen.
