In 2025, the Kyiv City Council set a new record for financing deputy funds. Each elected official in the capital had the opportunity to dispose of 15 million hryvnias to carry out the instructions of voters. The total volume of the program reached 1.8 billion hryvnias, which is comparable to the annual budgets of individual cities.
The funds could have been directed to three main areas: education, housing and communal services, and social protection. However, the bulk of the expenditures — almost 1.3 billion hryvnias — went to social protection, in particular, to financial assistance to residents of the capital.
According to the results of the year, 38 deputies used 100% of their funds, mainly for material assistance. Among them are representatives of various political forces and non-factional elected representatives. At the same time, some deputies used the funds only partially. The lowest indicators were recorded among several representatives of the Holos and European Solidarity factions, as well as non-factional deputies.
The practice of using deputy funds is accompanied by an active information campaign on social networks. Photos of queues at reception desks, money being given in envelopes, and packages with party symbols are appearing in the public space. This format of communication actually turns social assistance into a tool of political PR.
Individual deputies report thousands of recipients of material assistance and millions in payments. The average amount of one-time support in some cases is several thousand hryvnias. The most active use of funds was directed specifically to financial assistance during personal receptions of citizens.
Experts note that the sharp increase in funding for deputy funds requires additional analysis of the effectiveness of spending, transparency of distribution procedures, and criteria for providing assistance. The question of the balance between social support and other areas of city programs also remains open.
The results of the year demonstrate that deputy funds have become one of the largest instruments for distributing budget funds in the capital, and their use creates both a social and political effect.
