Are retirees caught in schemes? The issue of Chernobyl payments has driven some to hunger.

“We understand that the authorities do not need people”

In Ovruch, at the “Point of Resilience,” since early December, around fifty people have been protesting — demanding the restoration of their payments for living in a radiation-contaminated zone. Six participants have refused to eat. On the ninth day, a participant fainted and was hospitalized.

Among those on hunger strike are individuals with congenital heart defects, cancer patients, and Chernobyl disaster cleanup workers. One woman is advocating for her daughter’s payments, who was born with a disability. All are residents of the Ovruch community since the catastrophe.

“We will not wait until one by one we end up in the hospital or at the cemetery. The authorities have stepped over all laws and the Constitution. We all understand that the authorities do not need people. Today they took from us, and tomorrow they will take from others,” said Marina Perekhodova, one of the organizers of the protest.

According to her, their pension supplements have been significantly cut, and in 2025 the amount will be reduced again, making it “impossible to even survive on this money.”

What does the law say?

In 1991, Law No. 796-XII was adopted, which outlined the rules for pension provision for citizens affected by the Chernobyl disaster. Article 39 provided for additional payments to retirees who do not work and live in the radiation-contaminated zone, amounting to two minimum wages. The zones were divided into three levels:

• exclusion zone — the area from which people were evacuated after the 1986 disaster (for example, the city of Pripyat);
• mandatory resettlement zone — an area that includes 86 settlements located in northern Ukraine;
• voluntary resettlement zone — over 800 settlements, including the cities of Korosten and Ovruch in the Zhytomyr region.

In 2014, lawmakers abolished benefits for living in the voluntary resettlement zone. Subsequently, payments were reinstated only for those working in the exclusion zone.

However, in 2018, the Constitutional Court declared this decision unconstitutional and reinstated Article 39. In 2020, a pensioner won a case in the Supreme Court, which mandated the payment of two “minimums” to the man, thereby securing citizens' rights to these payments.

What is the problem?

The list of settlements included in the contaminated zones has been attempted to be updated multiple times. In 2023, the State Agency for the Management of the Exclusion Zone submitted a proposal to the Cabinet. According to it, cities like Korosten and Ovruch were no longer included in the voluntary resettlement zone. However, people began to protest, and the document was withdrawn from consideration.

“It can be debated whether these territories have truly recovered or not, but the fact is that people have lived there since the disaster. Additional studies are necessary. Only after that can the population be convinced that they live in a safe environment, not in a zone affected by the disaster,” believes Mykhailo Tsymbaliuk, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Policy.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal noted that as of September 2023, over 1.6 million citizens in Ukraine were considered affected by the Chernobyl disaster. Shmyhal insisted that individuals with liquidator and victim certificates are entitled to benefits, regardless of their place of residence, even if the contaminated zones change.

The Accounting Chamber reported potential abuses where citizens deliberately “settled” in the radiation-contaminated zone and then obtained monthly payments from the state through the courts.

Police were asked to investigate such “settlers”; 26 cases were confirmed — people indeed did not reside in the contaminated zone in the Zhytomyr region but received over 800,000 hryvnias in 2023. Half of these funds have already been recovered, according to the Accounting Chamber.

What are they saying in parliament?

Mykhailo Tsymbaliuk, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Policy, disagrees with the notion that there is a scheme for fictitious “settlement” in the contaminated zone for payments.

“If the state does not create conditions for them, people will go where they can settle. They are indifferent to whether this area is contaminated. This is the wrong position of the government, as there are court rulings. If the state could not convince the court, then these rulings must be enforced,” Tsymbaliuk remarked in a comment to hromadske.

He added that while there are cases of abuse for payments, they are “isolated.” The state has the authority to establish such facts, recover money for the budget, and hold those responsible accountable. However, all others “should not suffer due to these isolated incidents.”

Why have payments decreased?

In 2024, parliament set the minimum wage amount, from which social payments will be calculated. This is 1,600 hryvnias. Thus, if a court awards a Chernobyl victim an additional payment of two “minimums,” it will amount to 3,200 hryvnias. This is how much residents of the voluntary resettlement zone will receive in 2025. Last year, it was 13,400 hryvnias — two minimum wages (as of October 1, 2022, the minimum wage was 6,700 hryvnias).

Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets has already appealed to the Constitutional Court demanding that the norm calculating benefits from the amount of 1,600 hryvnias be declared unconstitutional.

On December 16, on the 14th day of the hunger strike of the Ovruch residents, a meeting took place in Kyiv with protesters, representatives of the Ombudsman’s Office, People’s Deputy Arseniy Pushkarenko, and the First Deputy Minister of Social Policy Daria Marchak.

“We agreed to soon convene a meeting with the participation of the Ministry of Social Policy, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, relevant committees, and regional administrations to address social guarantees for citizens,” reported the Ombudsman’s representative in the Zhytomyr region, Yuriy Pohoditsky.

An inter-factional association for the protection of the rights of Chernobyl victims was created in parliament. They will convene in the coming days to make some decisions.

“The Ministry of Social Policy says there is no money. But this is an incorrect justification. There are various options: for example, to create a separate fund to attract grants from the international community or contributions from businesses operating in this territory,” Tsymbaliuk noted.

Hromadske tried to obtain a comment from the Ministry of Social Policy, but no response was received by the time of publication.