“More than 3 million households — effectively every third or fourth Ukrainian family — have been affected in one way or another by housing destruction. If we add 4.5 million internally displaced persons and hundreds of thousands who needed improved housing even before 2022, we arrive at a figure that far exceeds the capacity of current programs.
Today, mortgages in Ukraine are not just a banking product. They are both an economic and a social instrument,” Hetmantsev said.
He also stressed that the construction sector is one of the key drivers of Ukraine’s recovery.
“The figures speak for themselves: +11.3% in 2025 (after growth of 17.8% and 31.8% in previous years). This is the sector that was the first to return to pre-war 2021 levels.
Residential construction alone amounted to 34.5 billion hryvnias last year. Behind every construction project are metallurgists, manufacturers of building materials and finishing products. This means tens of thousands of jobs and billions in revenues to budgets at all levels.
However, developers today are effectively hostages to the lack of long-term financing. Bank lending remains the No. 1 problem,” Hetmantsev said.
He added: “As of the end of 2025, damage to the housing stock is estimated at $61.1 billion. Fourteen percent of all housing in the country has been damaged or destroyed. The war has wiped out savings. According to the World Bank, one in three Ukrainians is now classified as poor. Only a few can afford to buy housing with savings. Mortgages are becoming the only viable option.”
Speaking about the eOselia program, Hetmantsev said: “We launched the eOselia program in the fall of 2022. Since then, 24,600 loans worth 42.8 billion hryvnias have been issued. However, when compared with reconstruction needs estimated by the United Nations and the World Bank at $89.8 billion over the next decade, it becomes clear that the current pace is critically insufficient.”
Explaining why the program is not operating at full capacity, he said: “Low solvency: teachers, doctors and researchers each account for only about 7% of recipients. At current salary levels, it is difficult for banks to confirm their ability to service a 15–20 year loan.
Geography: in frontline regions, the program is barely functioning. In Sumy region, only 243 loans have been issued, in Kharkiv region 231, and in Kherson region none.
Demographics: only 365 families with three children have benefited from affordable mortgages. That is just 1.5% of the total. For a country facing a demographic crisis, this is unacceptably low.”
Hetmantsev also said the new strategy is designed to cover 1 million families.
“In its current form, eOselia will not solve the problem. We need a comprehensive national recovery and renovation program that changes the very logic of the process.
I propose the following steps:
A legislative foundation — implementation of Directive 2014/17/EU and acceleration of draft law No. 13435 on European property valuation standards.
Institutional reset — merging Derzhmolodzhytlo and Ukrfinzhytlo for unified coordination.
Model transformation — shifting from budget-funded mortgages to a compensation-based model.
New financial instruments — introducing escrow accounts (as proposed by the National Bank of Ukraine) and developing the securitization market.
It is time to take this step for 1 million families. This means loans for up to 25 years, interest rates of 3–5% annually, and payments not exceeding 20–25% of household income (or equal to rent plus 10–20%).”
“Only this scale and these conditions will allow us to untangle the Gordian knot of the housing problem and give Ukrainians a tangible foundation to return home and live in their own country,” Hetmantsev said.
As reported, starting from January 2026, mobilized servicemembers can receive preferential mortgages at a 3% rate under the eOselia program.