The Ukrainian government has announced that it will allocate approximately 16 billion hryvnias (about 334 million euros) to support the state-owned company Ukrzaliznytsia for 2026, after having already allocated 13 billion hryvnias (270 million euros) during 2025. This was stated by the Prime Minister Julia Svyrydenko Commenting on the introduction of the new social program "UZ-3000." "The government is funding Ukrzaliznytsia during difficult times… These are taxpayer funds, so citizens should receive support from Ukrzaliznytsia: we are creating opportunities to travel under the UZ-3000 program and fill positions that usually remain vacant," Svyrydenko said. Specifically, it is envisaged that: part of the support will be used to pay the salaries of the company's employees; the company will implement a reduction in internal costs of at least 10 billion hryvnia (approximately 210 million euros); and a plan will be implemented to gradually transition the service obligation (SSO) to Ukrzaliznytsia to improve state-subsidized passenger transport. "It is important that these services operate as efficiently as possible and that as many passengers as possible can travel year-round," Svyrydenko concluded. The initiative reflects the Ukrainian government's efforts to maintain the accessibility of public rail transport despite ongoing economic and logistical challenges.
