Veterans' benefits will no longer depend on the availability of funds in the budget – bill
A bill has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada that aims to strengthen social protection guarantees for war veterans and their family members. Bill No. 15457 proposes to enshrine at the level of the Law of Ukraine "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection" that a lack of budget funding cannot be a reason for canceling or reducing the benefits provided by law, and state authorities will not have the right to establish additional conditions for their receipt.
What is the problem
The need for amendments is related to the fact that the laws on the State Budget of Ukraine have repeatedly limited benefits for persons discharged from military service, as well as other categories of citizens entitled to social guarantees. The authors of the bill cite insufficient budget funding as the reason for such restrictions.
The explanatory note states that as a result, veterans and other categories of persons entitled to social guarantees face restrictions on their right to social protection, although the special law itself does not change. This practice creates a conflict between two laws of equal legal force — the Law of Ukraine "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection" and the law on the State Budget of Ukraine.
According to the authors of the amendments, they refer to the practice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. In particular, in the decision dated August 28, 2020, No. 10-r/2020, the CCU noted that the subject of the law on the State Budget is clearly defined by the Constitution of Ukraine. Therefore, such a law cannot cancel or change rights, benefits, compensations, or guarantees established by other laws. Additionally, in the decision dated May 22, 2008, No. 10-rp/2008, the court concluded that changes to other laws cannot be made through the law on the State Budget. If there is a need to amend special legislation, a separate law must be adopted for this purpose.
The authors also refer to the Supreme Court resolution dated February 11, 2026, in case No. 440/11441/25. The court stated that changes to legal regulation in the field of social protection are possible only by amending the special law itself, not through other normative legal acts.
What changes are proposed
The bill provides for amendments to two articles of the Law of Ukraine "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection." It is proposed to supplement the third part of Article 2 with a provision that not only normative acts of state authorities and local self-government bodies that restrict veterans' rights are invalid, but also those that introduce additional conditions for obtaining benefits provided by law.
It is also proposed to supplement Article 17 with a new provision according to which limited budget funding cannot be a reason for canceling or changing the scope of rights, obligations, benefits, compensations, and guarantees defined by the Law of Ukraine "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection."
Thus, the bill provides that state authorities and local self-government bodies will not be able to restrict veterans' benefits or establish additional conditions for their receipt by their normative acts. In particular, it is proposed to prohibit making the right to benefits dependent on the veteran family’s income level. In addition, the document explicitly states that insufficient budget funding cannot be a reason for canceling or reducing the rights, benefits, compensations, and social guarantees provided by law.
What may change
If the bill is adopted, its authors expect that the guarantees provided by the Law of Ukraine "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection" will be more difficult to limit through provisions of other normative legal acts or insufficient budget funding.
Moreover, the bill aims to prevent the establishment of additional criteria for receiving veterans' benefits if such conditions are not explicitly provided by the law itself.
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