Since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, more than 135,000 people have settled in the Chernobyl exclusion zone to receive social benefits from the state. This is evidenced by the data published by the local administration. This trend raises many questions about the quality of registration control and the effectiveness of social programs.
Deputy Minister of Social Policy Daria Marchak told about this in an interview with Forbes.
According to her, people register in the Chernobyl zone in order to receive payments from the state for living in a radiation-contaminated territory. The burden on the budget is UAH 5 billion per year.
The budget for 2025 provided for payments only to those who lived in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant zone from 1986 to 1993, Marchak added.
