The 2,000-hryvnia banknote featuring Stus will be issued in Ukraine on 4 September
This was announced by the National Bank of Ukraine.
The new 2,000-hryvnia banknote will enter circulation on 4 September 2026.
It will be the highest denomination in the hryvnia banknote series. Currently, the highest-value banknote in Ukraine is the 1,000-hryvnia note.
The launch date was chosen for symbolic reasons. It was on 4 September 1965 that Vasyl Stus, together with Vyacheslav Chornovil and Ivan Dziuba, took part in the first open protest against political repression in the USSR. On 4 September 1985, Stus died in a Soviet labour camp.
What the new banknote looks like
The front of the banknote features a portrait of Vasyl Stus.
The reverse side depicts the building of the Faculty of Philology at Donetsk National University, where the poet studied. The banknote also bears the slogan ‘Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!’.
The banknote is designed in shades of blue. It measures 75×166 mm.
Why Vasyl Stus was chosen
The National Bank explained that the highest denomination of the national currency is intended to symbolise Ukrainian history, freedom and the struggle for independence.
Vasyl Stus was one of the most famous Ukrainian poets of the 1960s, a human rights activist, a dissident and a political prisoner of the Soviet regime. He is associated with resistance to Russification, the fight for human rights and Ukrainian culture.
What security features will the banknote have?
The new 2,000-hryvnia banknote will feature over 20 modern security features.
These include the new Anima™ Colour polychromatic security strip. According to the NBU, when the banknote is tilted, the image changes from the Trident to the hryvnia symbol.
The National Bank has stated that this is the world’s first banknote to feature this type of security feature.
Why is the new denomination being introduced?
The NBU attributes the introduction of the 2,000-hryvnia banknote to economic changes and the needs of the cash circulation system.
According to Andriy Pyshny, since the introduction of the 1,000-hryvnia banknote, the average salary in Ukraine has almost tripled. The volume of cash in circulation has exceeded 970 billion hryvnias.
The National Bank also notes that over half of the total value of banknotes in circulation is currently accounted for by 1,000-hryvnia notes.
The introduction of the 2,000-hryvnia note does not mean that other denominations will be withdrawn. The new note will gradually enter circulation alongside existing banknotes.
The National Bank expects that the higher denomination will help reduce the costs of producing, transporting and processing cash. It should also simplify large cash transactions for the public, businesses and banks.
In June, the NBU put modified 100-hryvnia banknotes into circulation. The main change was the appearance on the reverse side of the slogan ‘Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!’.
Furthermore, as of 2 March, 1-, 2-, 5- and 10-hryvnia banknotes from the 2003–2007 series ceased to be legal tender. They have been gradually replaced by coins of the corresponding denominations.
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