President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on August 20 awarding state scholarships to 11 Ukrainian athletes who have won medals at the Olympic, Paralympic, and Deaflympic Games. The financial support is scaled based on the athletes’ specific results and ranges from three to four times the minimum subsistence level for able-bodied individuals.
The highest tier of scholarships—four times the minimum subsistence level—was awarded to international champions. This group includes para-athlete Oksana Boturchuk (champion at the XIII Summer Paralympic Games), swimming champion Yaroslav Denisenko (XVII Summer Paralympic Games), and track and field champion Oleksandr Dmytrienko (XXIV Summer Deaflympics).
Other recipients at this top level include para-athletics champion Oleksandr Doroshenko (XII Summer Paralympic Games), para-swimming champion Yelyzaveta Mereško (XV and XVI Summer Paralympic Games), and soccer champion Stanislav Podolskyi (XV Summer Paralympic Games). Additionally, Oksana Shishkova, a gold medalist in para-biathlon and cross-country skiing at the XII and XIII Winter Paralympic Games, and Ivan Shkvarl, a champion of the XIII and XV Summer Paralympic Games in soccer, also received the four-times subsistence minimum.
Slightly lower scholarships of three and a half times the minimum subsistence level were granted to silver medalists, including para-athletics silver medalist Roman Danyliuk (XVI Summer Paralympic Games) and cross-country skiing silver medalist Pavlo Mandzyuk (XVIII and IX Winter Deaflympics).
Meanwhile, Olympic bronze medalist Anna Ryzhikova, who placed in track and field at the XXX Summer Olympic Games, was awarded a stipend equal to three times the subsistence minimum.
These state scholarships are issued under existing presidential decrees from August 18, 2004, and September 10, 2011, which govern state support for outstanding international-level athletes. The current group of 11 honorees spans multiple generations and represents disciplines including track and field, swimming, biathlon, cross-country skiing, and soccer. Under Presidential Decree No. 743/2026, the payments serve to support and recognize athletes who have successfully represented Ukraine at the highest levels of international competition.