March’s National Cashback will be paid out in a new way: who will receive the money
This was announced by the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine. Further details of the scheme are available on the Ministry of Economy’s website and in Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 559 of 29 April 2026.
Payments under the “National Cashback” scheme for March will begin in Ukraine on 7 May.
According to the Ministry of Economy, nearly 4.8 million programme users will receive the payments. This is the first payment under the new differentiated model.
Cashback is now calculated at two rates: 15% for Ukrainian-made goods in categories with a high proportion of imports, and 5% for other goods. According to LIGA.net, the government changed the terms of the scheme from 1 March: 5% applies to categories of Ukrainian-made goods where the import share is up to 35%, and 15% applies to categories where the import share is 35% or more.
Cashback on fuel for the first time
Along with the March payment, Ukrainians will receive cashback on fuel for the first time. This part of the programme was introduced on 20 March.
According to the Ministry of Economy, over 2 million Ukrainians will receive fuel payments. Of these, 91% are owners of budget-segment cars: vehicles aged 10–20 years with an engine capacity of up to 2.5 litres.
The fuel cashback depends on the type of fuel:
15% – for diesel;
10% – on petrol;
5% – on LPG.
The Ministry of Economy explains that this compensation allows for savings of approximately 2 to 13 UAH per litre. 219 petrol station operators have already joined the scheme – ranging from national chains to local stations.
From 1 May, the maximum cashback amount for fuel is 500 UAH per month per user. The total limit under the “National Cashback” programme is 3,000 UAH per month.
What can you spend the money on
The cashback received cannot be used for everything.
Under the updated rules, the funds can be used to pay for utility or postal services, to purchase medicines, medical supplies, books, food and other goods produced in Ukraine. The money can also be donated to charity, in particular to support the Defence Forces.
You cannot withdraw these funds as cash. Nor can they be spent on excise goods.
How long will the programme run?
On 29 April 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted Resolution No. 559, which relaunched the pilot project “National Cashback”.
The programme will run from 1 May 2026 for the duration of martial law, but no longer than until 30 April 2028.
The Cabinet of Ministers has determined that the project is intended to stimulate the production of Ukrainian goods and services within the “Made in Ukraine” platform. The source of funding is the state budget.
Ukrinform, citing government data, reported that up to 4.8 million people use the programme every month, and the total amount of payments has already reached around 8 billion hryvnias.
Criticism of the programme
At the same time, the programme has been criticised by some economists and think tanks. They are calling on the government to verify the income and assets of participants in mass social support programmes, and to either scrap the fuel cashback scheme or replace it with more targeted assistance.
The Ministry of Finance previously reported that, as of 30 March 2026, over 47.5 billion hryvnias had already been allocated from the state budget’s reserve fund to meet the state’s urgent needs arising from the consequences of Russia’s full-scale aggression.
As reported by ThePublic, the National Cashback scheme has been extended in Ukraine for a further two years
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