Cabinet resolves problem of financing frontline territories, 'grey zones'

The Ukrainian government, under a proposal of the Finance Ministry, has made several decisions to resolve the systemic problem of financing the frontline territories and so-called "grey zones."

According to a press release issued by the ministry on Wednesday, at a cabinet meeting on April 8 amendments to several resolutions were passed which will liquidate the "grey zones."

According to the report, at present there are two types of problematic issues in financing the territories in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone by the government, and one of which appears when one district is partially under the control of the Ukrainian government: financing from the budget is distributed among districts and it creates problems for the automatic allocation of funds to these districts.

The second problem appears when the frontline changes, when previously occupied territories are regained by the government which has not yet been reflected in legal acts, which creates temporary problems in financing these areas.

The legal status of settlements in the frontline zone which are fully under the control of the Ukrainian authorities has been changed under the proposal made by the ministry and this allows for the unblocking of finances for these territories by the State Treasury Service.

Settlements under the control of the Ukrainian government which have been removed from the list of settlements where the Ukrainian authorities temporarily do not fulfill their liabilities of fulfill them partially.

Settlements in the frontline zone will receive new status – settlements on the frontline, which will help solve the problem of their financing by the State Treasury Service.

Amendments to resolution No. 1085 of November 7, 2014 have been made.

Under the proposal of the Finance Ministry, the government also expanded the list of persons who have the right to receive monthly social aid due to hostilities – apart from displaced persons who leave the temporarily occupied zones and districts where the ATO is being conducted. Now, persons leaving settlements on the frontline will be able to receive this aid.