Fund for liquidating consequences of the aggression and new requirements for acquiring Ukrainian citizenship

24 October 2022
Fund for liquidating consequences of the aggression and new requirements for acquiring Ukrainian citizenship
Home > Monitoring > Fund for liquidating consequences of the aggression and new requirements for acquiring Ukrainian citizenship

Zelensky imposed sanctions against Russian oligarchs while MPs want to introduce exams on the history and Constitution of Ukraine as a requirement for acquiring Ukrainian citizenship.

Fund for liquidating consequences of the armed aggression 

Draft bill # 8027 of September 13, 2022 

Status: passed as a law. The bill awaits to be signed by the Speaker of the Parliament and the President of Ukraine.

Who is affected: Ukrainian citizens whose property or accommodation was damaged in the course of the war, government bodies of the Russian Federation, residents of the Russian Federation, employees of educational and medical sectors, the Cabinet, and the Parliament.

Summary of the bill: 

  • creates a special fund for liquidating the consequences of armed aggression as a special fund of the government budget. The purpose of this fund will be to repair humanitarian, social, and economic consequences of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine
  • the Cabinet will decide how to allocate money from this fund with consent from the parliamentary committee. The Cabinet will also approve the procedures regulating the use of this money
  • money from the Fund will be used for:
    • construction, reconstruction, and repairs of public buildings, civil defense buildings, objects of critical infrastructure required for heat and water supply, and buildings required for providing accommodation for IDPs
    • construction of public buildings destroyed as a result of the Russian aggression and civil defense buildings
    • construction, reconstruction, and repairs of critical infrastructure damaged as a result of the Russian aggression: sewage, water, heat, electricity, and gas supply infrastructure
    • construction, reconstruction, and repairs of buildings to provide accommodation for IDPs and persons who lost their homes
    • development of the required project documentation
    • procurement of school busses, special-purpose vehicles for medical establishments and communal enterprises working on municipal improvements
    • purchasing houses for citizens whose homes were destroyed
    • procurement of medical equipment for hospitals damaged as a result of hostilities or were on the temporarily occupied territories
    • procurement of computer and multimedia equipment for schools on the territories damaged because of the war
  • defines that the fund for liquidating the consequences of the armed aggression gets its revenue from the confiscation of property owned by the Russian Federation and its residents.

In addition, the bill provisions that in 2022 money from the government budget will also be allocated to provide subventions for local budgets to compensate for tariff rates difference on centralized water supply and sewage services.

What is right: the bill defines how the money received from the confiscation of property owned by Russia and its residents will be used. This money will be spent on solving housing, economic, infrastructure, and social problems of the country and its citizens.

What is wrong: the bill violates the Constitution because parliamentary committees cannot have independent powers (they are not separate government bodies). That is why the requirement for the parliamentary committee to approve the allotment of the money from the Fund is unconstitutional.

Alternative solution: to refrain from making the parliamentary committee responsible for approving the allotment of the money from the Fund.

Additional information: according to Yaroslav Zhelezniak, the revenue projection of the Fund for 2022 is ₴20 billion.

Voted in favor: factions Servant of the People (192), Trust (15), Restoration of Ukraine (13), Platform for Life and Peace (12), Batkivshchyna (7), and For the Future (5).

Sanctions against Russian oligarchs and collaborators 

Presidential decrees 726/2022 and 727/2022 

Decision-maker: the President of Ukraine.

Who is affected: persons and enterprises targeted by sanctions, the President, the National Security and Defense Council, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, the Cabinet, and law enforcement agencies.

Summary of the decrees: 

  • sanctions are imposed against over 2500 citizens of Russia, Ukraine, and other countries. Among others, the following persons are on the list:
    • Russian oligarchs Suleiman Kerimov, Gennady Timchenko, Mikhail Prokhorov, Leonid Fedun, Dmitriy Rybolovlev, and Mikhail Fridman
    • collaborators Alexander Nesterenko, Andrey Sopelnyk, Mikhail Zheltyakov, Alexander Malkov, Valery Skorokhodov, and others
    • sanctions are imposed against Russian companies, including the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Alfa-Bank, Transkapitalbank, Rostelecom, and NPF VTB Pension Fund JSC. A total of 1374 companies are on the list.

What is right: 

  • President’s decrees protect the national interests of Ukraine and ensure punishment for collaborators, sponsors, and executors of the armed aggression against Ukraine
  • it seems probable that assets owned by persons and companies on this sanction list will be confiscated for the benefit of the fund for liquidating the consequences of the armed aggression.

New rules for acquiring Ukrainian citizenship 

Draft bill # 7606 of July 28, 2022 

Sponsor: the Cabinet.

Status: adopted in the first reading. MPs still have time to amend the shortcomings of the bill.

Who is affected: foreigners and stateless persons who want to acquire Ukrainian citizenship, the State Migration Service of Ukraine.

Summary of the bill: 

  • knowledge of the foundations of the Constitution and history of Ukraine will become a requirement for the acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship. It will be necessary to pass the exams in these subjects
  • persons who provided distinguished services to Ukraine, persons whose acquirement of citizenship is in the interests of the state, and persons who are serving their contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be required to pass the required exams within two years after acquiring the citizenship. Failure to pass the exam will be a legal ground for denaturalization
  • the requirement to know the Constitution, history, and language will not apply to children applying for Ukrainian citizenship.

What is right: a stronger connection between a person who wants to acquire Ukrainian citizenship and Ukraine. Such a person will have enough knowledge to become a part of Ukrainian society politically.

What is wrong: the decision to grant or not to grant Ukrainian citizenship is made by the President. A mere law cannot restrict presidential powers when it comes to political decisions like granting citizenship to Vadym Novynskyi or Mikheil Saakashvili disregarding all the procedures.

Voted in favor: factions Servant of the People (196), European Solidarity (22), Restoration of Ukraine (16), Batkivshchyna (15), Platform for Life and Peace (14), Trust (13), Holos (10), and For the Future (8).