Heating Assistance and Subsidies for IDPs: What to Know in Fall 2025

With the approach of colder weather, the government has updated the rules for providing subsidies and benefits for heating for internally displaced persons (IDPs). The changes are aimed at avoiding the duplication of payments and ensuring targeted support for those who really need it. This is reported by Finance.ua.

How the Rules for Providing State Assistance for IDPs Have Changed

Starting from the heating season of 2025/26, new limitations will come into effect in Ukraine: if a family has already received a one-time fuel assistance from an international organization, a state subsidy for the same needs will not be provided. However, if the international assistance only covered fuel, the family will be able to apply for benefits or a subsidy for housing and communal services.

From 2026, subsidies and benefits will be granted only after official confirmation that the family has not received similar international support. These new rules apply to both subsidies and benefits for solid fuel - there will be no exceptions.

Which Categories of IDPs Will Receive Additional Assistance

Two categories of internally displaced persons will receive additional state assistance:

• families that have moved from conflict zones or have lost their homes and are eligible for a subsidy or benefit for stove heating;
• IDPs living in houses with stove heating in Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Chernihiv regions.

When Will Payments to IDPs Be Made by the End of 2025

The funds will be distributed by the Pension Fund of Ukraine. Payments will be made:

• by November 5 - through banks for families that have lost housing or relocated;
• by November 25 - through postal offices;
• by December 5 and December 25 respectively - for IDPs from frontline regions who have not received international assistance.

In case a family receives both state and international assistance for fuel, the excess funds will need to be returned to the Pension Fund.

According to experts, the new system may complicate checks for applicants, but it will help avoid abuses and ensure fair distribution of resources. The government pays special attention to frontline regions, where due to damaged infrastructure, there is often no access to gas or electric heating, and stoves remain the only way to warm up in winter.

Previously, we reported that internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine received a new support tool: a one-time payment of 2000 UAH for six months of continuous work.