Ukrainians abroad are trying to claim the ‘Vova’s Thousand,’ but their applications are being rejected

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians living abroad attempted to claim payments under the “Winter eSupport” program, commonly referred to as the “Volodymyr’s Thousand.”

This was reported on the website of Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy.

While the exact number of applicants is not specified, the report mentions that a total of 130,000 applications were rejected.

“As of December 16, the total number of applications in the *Diia* app reached 7.5 million, including 2 million for payments for children. During the verification process, around 130,000 applications were rejected due to non-compliance with the program’s conditions, including submissions from citizens residing abroad,” the press release stated.

According to First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko, the funds received by participants are primarily being spent on utility payments.

Last week, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov reported that only 4% of Ukrainians used the “Volodymyr’s Thousand” for donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF).

Earlier in December, the American newspaper The New York Times described the distribution of the “Volodymyr’s Thousand” as populism and election preparation. The paper argued that this “populist move” is primarily targeted at pensioners, who make up a 10-million-strong voting base.