Council of Europe Development Bank approves additional EUR 140 million for housing programmes for veterans and internally displaced persons in Ukraine

On June 18-19, Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Olga Zykova participated in the meeting of the Administrative Council of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) as the official representative of Ukraine. The meeting is taking place in Paris, France.

During the meeting, the CEB Administrative Council approved new support measures for Ukraine totaling EUR 140 million:

a EUR 60 million loan to provide war veterans with access to affordable housing;

a EUR 80 million loan to provide housing support for internally displaced persons (IDPs) from temporarily occupied territories.

Olga Zykova thanked the CEB management for its consistent support for Ukraine and its contribution to the implementation of socially important programmes.

“The approved projects are yet another confirmation of the Council of Europe Development Bank’s trust in Ukraine and of our effective cooperation. Providing housing for war veterans and internally displaced persons remains one of the key priorities of state policy. These new programmes will enable thousands of Ukrainian families to gain access to housing and will promote the social integration of citizens most affected by the consequences of the war.

Since Ukraine joined the Council of Europe Development Bank in 2023, the Bank has already approved more than EUR 810 million in financing to support the housing sector, healthcare system, and other socially important areas,” said Olga Zykova.

The Housing for War Veterans project is aimed at supporting combat participants and persons with war-related disabilities who need improved housing conditions. The programme provides concessional long-term loans for the purchase of completed housing.

The financing is expected to provide housing for nearly 1,600 families of Ukrainian war heroes. This will help stabilize veterans’ lives, facilitate their reintegration into communities, and preserve their human capital in Ukraine, directly contributing to the country’s recovery and strengthening social cohesion in Ukrainian society.

Programme participants will be eligible for loans with a maturity of up to 20 years, requiring a 6% down payment, with a concessional interest rate of 3% for the first ten years and 7% thereafter.

The Housing Support for IDPs from Temporarily Occupied Territories project supports the Government of Ukraine’s housing compensation programme for citizens who were forced to leave their homes in temporarily occupied territories and cannot access standard compensation mechanisms due to the impossibility of physically verifying damaged or destroyed property.

The programme will be implemented through housing certificates worth UAH 2 million for affected citizens, using the Diia platform and the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property.

CEB financing is expected to provide housing compensation for approximately 2,000 families. As of April 2026, nearly 36,000 applications had already been submitted under the programme, with more than 26,000 approved by local authorities. The programme primarily targets the most vulnerable categories of citizens, including combat participants and persons with war-related disabilities.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, more than 2.8 million Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes in occupied territories. Around 14% of Ukraine’s housing stock has been damaged or destroyed, with a significant share of this damaged housing located in temporarily occupied territories.

The Bank’s current portfolio in Ukraine includes four projects totaling EUR 550 million, of which nearly 90%, or approximately EUR 484 million, has already been disbursed, demonstrating the high efficiency of cooperation. Recently, the Bank’s Governing Board also approved new operations for Ukraine – additional financing of EUR 100 million for the HOME project (compensation for housing destroyed as a result of russian aggression) and a EUR 20 million support programme for small and medium-sized enterprises.

In June 2023, Ukraine became the 43rd member state of the Council of Europe Development Bank. On November 7, 2023, the President of Ukraine appointed Olga Zykova as Ukraine’s official representative to the CEB Administrative Council.

This year’s meeting of the CEB Administrative Council coincided with the third anniversary of Ukraine’s membership in the Bank’s Administrative Council.