Support for visually impaired military personnel: how to get financial assistance for household appliances

After the start of a full-scale war, separate mechanisms for supporting military personnel are gradually being formed in Ukrainian legislation, whose needs cannot be fully covered by general social protection programs. One such area is assistance to defenders who have suffered complete or partial loss of vision as a result of injuries. In these cases, the issue of state support concerns the creation of conditions for maximum independence of a person in everyday life. New programs for assisting military personnel often look simple only at first glance: there is a resolution, a certain amount, a list of equipment and a deadline for applying. However, in practice, the details become decisive – who exactly falls under the conditions, what documents confirm the right to payment, how to properly issue an invoice and why the funds cannot be used at one’s own discretion.

Lawyers of the law firm “Repeshko and Partners” commented on the features of the new mechanism for providing assistance to visually impaired servicemen, drew attention to the circle of persons who may qualify for support, and also explained some practical aspects of the implementation of the relevant government program.

After the adoption of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 05/27/2026 No. 674, a separate opportunity appeared for some servicemen and veterans to receive targeted assistance for specific things that may be needed in everyday life after complete or partial loss of vision. This is a joint project with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, within the framework of which funds are directed to the purchase of household appliances from a certain list.

The peculiarity of this assistance is that it has several important restrictions at once: not all persons with visual impairments can receive it, but only certain categories of servicemen and veterans. At the same time, funds can be spent not on any needs, but only on equipment from the list. In this situation, the payment is not made in cash, but through a special account in an authorized bank. That is why it is important for a potential recipient to understand not only the amount of assistance, but also the procedure for its use.

It is worth knowing that the right to receive cash assistance is granted to persons with complete or partial loss of vision if they belong to one of two categories. The first category is participants in hostilities, specified in paragraphs 19-25 of part one of article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection”. The second category is made up of persons with disabilities as a result of the war, specified in paragraphs 11-16 of part two of article 7 of this Law. At the same time, receiving other types of assistance in itself is not an obstacle to this payment. The procedure provides that cash assistance is provided regardless of the recipients receiving other types of assistance.

Payment is made to an open current account with a special regime for the recipient of funds. Such an account is opened in one of the authorized banks: Joint-Stock Company “State Savings Bank of Ukraine” or Public Joint-Stock Company Joint-Stock Bank “Ukrgasbank”. The maximum amount of cash assistance cannot exceed 95,000 hryvnias, excluding the commission of the authorized bank. Separate funds are provided for payment of commission fees for banking services – opening a special account and transferring funds. Its maximum amount is 2,000 hryvnias, and this amount is provided to the recipient once during the term of the joint project with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society.

It is important to understand that cash assistance is provided once during the term of the project. The recipient of funds independently chooses the household appliances that he plans to purchase for household equipment, however, such a choice must be made exclusively within the list approved by the appendix to the Procedure. That is, funds cannot be directed to any product at the request of a person, even if it is necessary for everyday life – the purchase must comply with a certain list.

This list currently includes, in particular, a smartphone with a voice assistant, a voice speaker or a “smart” assistant, a microwave oven and/or a multicooker with voice prompts, audio control or mechanical control, an air grill with mechanical and/or voice control, a vacuum cleaner or a robot vacuum cleaner with simple control, a washing machine with mechanical or voice control, a computer or laptop with a screen voice program.

The list also includes devices that can help with orientation, obtaining information and daily control of household processes. These include a smart watch or fitness bracelet with voice functions or a vibration signal, a light sensor or a nightlight with a motion sensor, a watch or bracelet with an audio or vibration signal, scales with voice guidance, including kitchen and/or floor scales, a thermometer with voice guidance, including room, medical and/or kitchen scales.

Also, assistance funds can be used to purchase a phone with large buttons and/or a special screen for people with visual impairments, a TV or media player with voice control and/or a voice menu, household sensory devices with audio prompts, including a kettle, coffee maker, etc., a refrigerator or household appliances with tactile markings, a navigation tracker or GPS device for orientation in space, a voice recorder or audio device for recording reminders, an alarm button or a help call system.

The list also includes specialized tools directly related to working with information for people with visual impairments. It includes specialized devices for working with visual information, portable or stationary video magnifiers, a reading machine that recognizes printed text and voices it, medical measuring devices with a voice output function or a voice interface, in particular tonometers and glucometers, home sports equipment and exercise machines that have mechanical control or a built-in voice support function for the training process, assistive software in the form of licenses, a mechanical Braille typewriter, as well as a device for creating “voice tags”.

Payment of cash assistance is carried out in a specified period – from August 1, 2026 to October 30, 2026 inclusive. It is within this period that financing for the purchase of household appliances should take place according to the established procedure. At the same time, only funds transferred by the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, as well as funds returned for purchased household appliances from the list in the event of their return to the store, can be credited to the recipient’s special account. The Procedure does not provide for other receipts to such an account.

It is important that the amount of cash assistance received is not taken into account when calculating the total income of the recipient’s family for the purpose of all types of social assistance provided in accordance with the legislation. In addition, the amount of such assistance is not included in the calculation of the total monthly or annual taxable income of the recipient of funds. At the same time, the special account regime also means significant restrictions. Cash cannot be withdrawn from such an account. It is also prohibited to transfer cash assistance funds to accounts other than the accounts of the store where the household appliances are purchased. That is, the assistance actually works as targeted financing of a specific purchase, and not as a free cash payment.

To receive financial assistance, a person or his/her legal representative must submit an application in the established form together with the necessary documents. Such an application is submitted to the structural unit entrusted with the functions of veteran policy of the regional, Kyiv city, district, district in the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol state administrations, as well as executive bodies of city, district in the cities of councils.

An application and documents can be submitted in several ways: in paper form, by sending to the postal address or in electronic form to the email address of the relevant structural unit. In the case of electronic submission, the documents must be signed with a qualified electronic signature or an advanced electronic signature.

The application is submitted at the declared or registered place of residence of the person. For internally displaced persons, a different guideline is provided – they submit documents at the address of the actual place of residence, indicated in the certificate of registration of an internally displaced person.

Documents must be attached to the application for financial assistance, without which its consideration will actually not be able to proceed to the next stage. First of all, an informed consent is submitted in the form according to the appendix, as well as an invoice or invoices, an invoice or invoices for the selected household appliances.

It is the invoice or invoice that is important in this procedure, since the funds are not given to the person in person, but must subsequently be transferred directly to the store. Therefore, such a document must indicate the store’s data: the name of the legal entity and its organizational and legal form or last name, first name, patronymic of the individual entrepreneur, if any, the identification code according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities for legal entities or the registration number of the taxpayer’s account card or the series and number of the passport of a citizen of Ukraine. It is also mandatory to indicate the account number of the store to which the funds are to be transferred, the last name, first name and patronymic of the recipient of the funds or his legal representative, the name of the product and the amount to be paid, which must not exceed the maximum amount of cash assistance.

A separate set of documents concerns confirmation of complete or partial loss of vision. A specialist’s consultation opinion in form 028/o may be attached to the application, confirming complete or partial loss of vision with an indication of the degree of loss of visual functions. The Procedure also allows for the submission of a copy of the decision or resolution of the military medical commission, a copy of an extract from the decision of the expert team for assessing the daily functioning of a person, or a copy of the conclusion or certificate to the examination report of the medical and social expert commission.

In cases where a legal representative or a representative by power of attorney acts on behalf of the recipient, a copy of the passport of a citizen of Ukraine of such a representative is attached to the package of documents. Depending on the grounds for the representation, a copy of the court decision on the restriction of civil capacity or recognition of the recipient of funds as incapacitated, a copy of the court decision or guardianship and trusteeship body on the appointment of a guardian or trustee, or a copy of the representative’s power of attorney is also submitted.

It is worth knowing that the acceptance of applications and attached documents is limited in time: they are accepted from July 1, 2026 to July 31, 2026 inclusive. Responsibility for the accuracy of the information specified in the application and documents lies with the recipient of funds or his legal representative.

After registering the application, the structural unit for veterans’ policy checks the information submitted. If its accuracy is confirmed, officials within three working days from the date of registration of the application notify the recipient of funds or his legal representative of the positive result of the consideration by means of mobile communication, and also send an e-mail confirmation letter about the assignment of cash assistance in the established form.

When the application or the documents attached to it are not submitted in full, the consideration of the application is not completely stopped, but remains without moving to eliminate the shortcomings. Officials notify the person or his legal representative about this within three working days from the date of registration of the application, indicating which documents are missing. The notification is sent to e-mail and additionally delivered by mobile communication.

After receiving a notification about the positive result of the application and a confirmation letter, the person applies to the authorized bank with an application for opening a special account. Within three working days from the date of opening such an account, the recipient must send a relevant certificate to the e-mail address of the structural unit for veteran policy. After receiving the certificates, officials send a list of persons and relevant certificates to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society.

If the status of the recipient of funds does not pass verification or other grounds for refusal are established, officials within three working days from the date of registration of the application and attached documents notify the person of the reason for refusal in further consideration. Refusal to pay cash assistance is possible if the person has already received such assistance during the project period, does not belong to the specified categories of recipients, submitted inaccurate information or applied with an application and documents after the expiration of the program. A refusal may also be received in the event of a lack of funds provided for the implementation of the project.

The Ukrainian Red Cross Society, based on materials sent by the structural unit for veteran policy issues, transfers funds to a special account of the person within the established maximum amount of assistance. The transfer is carried out if there are funds provided for the implementation of the project, in the order of priority of receipt of applications from persons applying for assistance. After receipt of funds, the authorized bank transfers the cash assistance to the account of the store or stores, i.e. a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur, within one business day. Such transfer to the store account must be made by October 30, 2026 inclusive.

If after October 30, 2026, unused funds remain on the special account, the authorized bank transfers them to the account of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society. Similarly, if a person has not submitted an invoice, invoices, or invoices to the authorized bank by October 30, 2026 inclusive for transferring funds to the store’s account, the bank, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, will return the funds from the person’s special account to the account of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society after this date.

Therefore, we advise persons who may qualify for such assistance to carefully familiarize themselves with the terms of the program and take care of preparing the necessary documents in advance, since compliance with the established procedure is a prerequisite for receiving support.