Grants of the President of Ukraine for youth from small territorial communities: legal nuances of the new regulation

The full-scale war significantly affected the mobility of young people in Ukraine: some moved abroad, others within the country. Against the background of these changes, the President of Ukraine issued a decree approving the Regulations on Grants for Youth from Small Territorial Communities. The document establishes the conditions and procedure for providing annual grants for the implementation of socially important youth projects in communities with up to 5 thousand residents.

Lawyers of the Repeshko and Partners Law Firm commented on how the grant mechanism will work in practice, what legal aspects should be taken into account when submitting competitive proposals, as well as what obligations and responsibilities the contract imposes on grant recipients.

It is no secret that the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into the territory of Ukraine has caused an active process of youth migration not only abroad, but also within the country. Naturally, with the opportunities provided by the modern world, the younger generation is trying to get as much out of life as possible. Modernity beckons with Instagram posts about a luxurious carefree life, big cities promise a fun life in a non-stop rhythm – all this becomes especially desirable when the shaheeds are constantly flying above your head, and friends who have gone abroad are freely traveling the expanses of Europe for the first time.

Understanding the need for the development of the country, namely, primarily small settlements, the President of Ukraine issued a Decree No. 159/2026 of February 24, 2026, which approved the Regulations on grants of the President of Ukraine for youth from small territorial communities. It determines the conditions and procedure for providing annual grants of the President of Ukraine to young people from territorial communities with a total population of less than 5 thousand inhabitants (hereinafter referred to as small territorial communities) to support youth initiatives regarding the implementation of socially important projects (hereinafter referred to as youth projects), established by the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated October 14, 2025 No. 784/2025 “On Grants of the President of Ukraine for Youth from Small Territorial Communities” (hereinafter referred to as Grants of the President of Ukraine).

In accordance with this decree, up to 500 grants of the President of Ukraine may be assigned each year, which are provided as project support, in the amount of up to 200 thousand hryvnias each at the expense of the State Budget of Ukraine. Grants of the President of Ukraine are provided based on the results of a competitive selection of youth projects for receiving grants of the President of Ukraine in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, by providing budget grants as project support at the expense of the state budget, taking into account the features determined by the adopted regulation. The competition for grants is organized and conducted by the Ukrainian Youth Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the Foundation).

It is worth noting that during the competition, up-to-date information on the list of small territorial communities, provided by the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine at the request of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, is taken into account. At the same time, the areas of socially important projects for which the competition will be held in the current year are annually determined by the Foundation.

A competitive proposal for support of a youth project (hereinafter referred to as the subject of the proposal) may be submitted by a person who:

• is a citizen of Ukraine;
• is aged 14 to 35 years (inclusive);
• who at the time of submitting the competitive proposal has an address of declared / registered place of residence (stay) (for internally displaced persons – the address of actual place of residence / stay) in a small territorial community for at least one year and has been engaged in youth work.

Citizens aged 14 to 18, except for persons who, in accordance with the Civil Code of Ukraine, have full civil capacity, to participate in the competition shall additionally submit a written consent of one of the parents, adoptive parents, foster parents, foster parents, guardian, representative of the institution that performs the duties of a guardian, guardianship and trusteeship body (before the establishment of guardianship and appointment of a guardian). At the same time, the Fund may determine additional requirements for young citizens who may participate in the competition in the relevant direction of socially important projects, for which the competition is being held in the current year.

The announcement of the competition is drawn up and published by the Fund in the Fund’s electronic system and on its official website no later than 30 calendar days before the deadline for submitting competition proposals for participation in the competition. The Fund may additionally publish the announcement through its own pages on social networks, partner platforms, etc. To participate in the competition, young people submit documents specified by the Fund in the announcement and they are responsible for the reliability of the information set out in the submitted documents.

If the Fund establishes that false information has been submitted, the Fund shall terminate the consideration of the youth project at any stage of the competition. Competition proposals for participation in the competition shall be drawn up in the state language and submitted by citizens using the Fund’s electronic system. In the event of a competition without using the Fund’s electronic system, competition proposals shall be submitted to the Fund in the manner specified in the announcement.

The competition consists of the following stages:

1) technical selection of youth projects;

2) expert selection of youth projects;

3) discussion by the Fund with the entities submitting the recommendations of experts provided in accordance with the established procedure;

4) preparation and submission to the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine of proposals on the list of youth projects for the implementation of which it is proposed to assign a grant of the President of Ukraine, which shall indicate the name of the youth project, the entity submitting it, the terms of implementation and the recommended amount of the grant of the President of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, based on the proposals of the Fund, shall submit for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine a draft act of the President of Ukraine on the assignment of grants of the President of Ukraine. Grants of the President of Ukraine shall be assigned by decree of the President of Ukraine upon the submission of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Within a period not exceeding 30 working days from the date of awarding the grants of the President of Ukraine, the Fund concludes an agreement on the provision of a grant of the President of Ukraine with the person to whom the grant of the President of Ukraine was awarded (hereinafter referred to as the grantees). At the same time, the Fund provides financial support for the youth project in accordance with the concluded agreements on the provision of a grant of the President of Ukraine. The grantees ensure the targeted and effective use of the granted grants of the President of Ukraine.

Please note that at all stages of the implementation of measures to support youth projects, the Fund monitors the fulfillment by the grantee of the obligations specified in the grant agreement. The discovery by the Fund after the conclusion of the grant agreement of the fact that a person has provided inaccurate information is grounds for the Fund to unilaterally terminate the specified agreement. Violation by the grantee of the terms of the grant agreement is also grounds for the Fund to unilaterally terminate the specified agreement.

In such cases, the grant of the President of Ukraine shall be returned in full to the Fund within 15 working days from the date of receipt by the grantee of the relevant notification from the Fund. If the grantee’s violation of the terms of the grant was due to an accident or force majeure, the specified sanctions shall not apply.

The implementation of a youth project with the support of the Fund is completed by the grantee submitting a final report on the implementation of the youth project in accordance with the procedure for submitting proposals and conducting monitoring. Monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of youth projects are carried out by the Fund at each stage of the implementation of the youth project in accordance with the procedure for submitting proposals and conducting monitoring.

Despite the fact that the number of grants within the country is not significant – only up to 500 per year, this step is more about not just funding, but about trust in the country’s youth. The new presidential decree is a recognition that even in the smallest territorial community there are people with great ideas who are worthy of support and who can further contribute to the development of the country.

Therefore, we advise young people who plan to submit competitive proposals for the grant of the President of Ukraine to carefully read the terms of the announcement, ensure the reliability of all documents, realistically assess their own resources for project implementation, and adhere to the requirements of the contract. This will avoid legal risks and ensure the effective implementation of the youth initiative.