[69132] The gap in costs of employing foreign workers versus local workers in Ukraine

The gap in costs of employing foreign workers versus local workers in Ukraine

According to reports circulated today, May 21, 2026, there are significant cost gaps in the Ukrainian labor market between local workers and foreign workers. The expert Khmelovsky notes that while a Ukrainian worker is willing to earn about 10,000 to 15,000 hryvnias per month, the cost of employing a foreign worker for a business starts at 40,000 hryvnias.

The 'Батальйон «Монако»' channel reports in this context that the difference in costs stems from a variety of operational factors that do not apply to local workers. Among other things, this involves "documents, permits, logistics, housing, adaptation, and sometimes interpreters."

The same data was also circulated on the БАЙРАКТАР channel, which is identified with a line supporting Zelensky and the Ukrainian administration. The channel highlights Khmelovsky's claim that the heavy financial burden on employers seeking to recruit foreign labor is a direct product of the bureaucratic complexity and requirements associated with integrating workers from outside the country.