Koretskyi blocks UAH 500 million in payments to Lviv – street cleaners and tram drivers will not receive salaries
Some of Lviv’s street cleaners and tram drivers may not receive their duly earned, scheduled salaries by the end of the week, which is unlawful. As a result, Andrii Sadovyi has declined his own salary until payments resume.
This was announced by Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi, according to Censor.NET.
What is known
According to the statement, the State Treasury Service has suspended the processing of payments for transport services and sanitation. These payments include salaries for street cleaners and electric public transport drivers.
According to Sadovyi, payments totalling more than UAH 500 million have not been processed in Lviv. In addition to municipal workers’ salaries, these also cover preparations for winter, funding for healthcare and educational facilities, and emergency restoration work following missile attacks.
"It must be understood that these are Lviv residents’ taxes, which the state has effectively frozen. We understand that, in the fifth year of the full-scale war, the situation with the state budget is indeed difficult. Savings are necessary, but certainly not at the expense of municipal workers. For many of them, this salary is critically important," the Lviv mayor stressed.
A forced decision
Sadovyi said he had discussed the issue with Prime Minister Koretskyi. The prime minister explained that this was a forced decision and that critical payments would gradually be processed manually. The situation could improve within a month.
"Under these circumstances, I consider it unethical to receive a salary until salary payments to municipal workers resume. Therefore, I am declining my salary for this period," the statement said.
The mayor also called on Ukrainian MPs and members of the Cabinet of Ministers to make the same decision in solidarity with people who should receive their salaries on time for work completed on time.
"It is not normal for an official to be first in line for a salary while a person whose hands keep the city running is last," he added.
Background
- As a reminder, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said the previous day that, despite statements by European Commission representatives that Ukraine faces no external financing shortfall in 2026, the Ministry of Defence needs additional funds for this year.
- According to him, Ukraine plans to cover more than $7 billion of this need through domestic resources: savings and spending reallocations.
- Ukraine expects to find around another $12 billion through "joint efforts".
