The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, signed Law of Ukraine No. 4887-IX, which regulates the provision of financial incentives to local government officials who are involved in the implementation of international programmes. The document, published in the 23 June 2026 edition of the newspaper “Holos Ukrainy”, opens up new opportunities for attracting investment and the development of communities.

Key changes introduced by the Law

The amendments to the legislation, in particular to the laws “On Remuneration” and “On Service in Local Governments”, address the long-standing problem of fair pay for specialists working with donors:

• Legalisation of payments: Payments made under grants, programmes, and projects involving international technical assistance and international territorial cooperation are officially classified as other incentive and compensation payments.
• Official additional payments for extra workload: Local government officials may be granted additional payments for the extra workload incurred during the implementation of such projects.
• Amount of additional payments: The amount of additional payments is determined directly by the budget of the relevant international programmes or projects.
• Sources of funding: The wage fund for council staff may be formed from local budget funds received through grants, budgetary support, and financial assistance from the European Union, international organisations, or foreign governments.

Mechanism for donor approval

To avoid risks, the Law provides for a clear verification mechanism:

1. The entity registering an international technical assistance project is required to notify the Ministry for Development of the registration of a programme that provides for such additional payments.
2. Within 30 days, the relevant ministry verifies that the donor has no links to the Russian Federation or countries that sponsor terrorism. During this period, the principle of tacit consent applies.
3. If an international donor is included in the list of donors approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, the projects are deemed to have been automatically approved.

The procedure for making additional payments will be approved by a decision of the local council based on a standard procedure to be developed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

When does the Law come into force?

The main part of the Law comes into force three months after the date of its publication – from 23 September 2026. From that date, communities will have the official right to pay their staff additional remuneration for work on grants in line with the current rules.

The Law also includes a precautionary measure for the future. Ukraine has already adopted a completely new (reform-oriented) Law on Service in Local Governments from 2023, the entry into force of which has currently been postponed. The new provisions on additional payments for grant-related work have already been incorporated into that Law. They will automatically come into force once the state fully implements this major reform of service in local governments.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has three months to draft all the necessary subordinate legislation and approve the Standard Procedure for Additional Payments.