OVDPs and Ukraine's War Bonds: How to Buy, Yields and Taxes

OVDPs (облігації внутрішньої державної позики, domestic government bonds) are how Ukraine's government borrows in its home market, and "war bonds" are OVDPs sold under that name since the full-scale invasion. They are a useful case study for any bond investor: a government bond in a high-inflation currency, sold to individuals through banking apps and a state app, with interest that is tax-free for individuals in Ukraine. This article covers how OVDPs work, the ways to buy them, where their yield comes from, how they compare with a bank deposit and what to weigh before buying. For the general mechanics of bonds — coupon, face value and why prices move against rates — start with What Are Bonds.

What an OVDP Is

An OVDP is a debt security issued by Ukraine's Ministry of Finance to fund the state budget. When you buy one, you lend the government money for a fixed term: it pays you interest (the coupon) and returns the face value at maturity. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) acts as the central depository for all OVDPs, so every bond exists only as an electronic entry in a securities account.

A few parameters are worth knowing. According to the NBU depository, as of 20 October 2026 every OVDP in circulation has a face value of 1,000 units of its currency: 1,000 hryvnias, dollars or euros. Most issues pay a coupon every 182 days, roughly twice a year, while some hryvnia issues pay once a year. Terms range from a few months to several years.

What "war bonds" are

War bonds are not a separate kind of security. They are OVDPs that the government sells under the name «Військові облігації» (Military Bonds). The Cabinet of Ministers resolution that sets out how to buy them through the Diia app, No. 1034, calls them exactly that: domestic government bonds "Military Bonds". For the investor the terms are the same as for any other OVDP — same issuer, same face value, same tax rules. The name ties the borrowing to financing the state during the war.

They have become popular with households. According to NBU data published on 2 October 2026, individuals held OVDPs worth UAH 167.5 billion as of 1 October 2026, of which UAH 110.4 billion were war bonds, up from UAH 75.1 billion a year earlier.

Hryvnia and foreign-currency OVDPs

OVDPs are issued in hryvnias, US dollars and euros. Hryvnia bonds carry a much higher coupon because the hryvnia has higher inflation and carries devaluation risk. Dollar and euro bonds pay less, but the face value and coupons are paid in the currency of the issue. According to the NBU depository, as of 20 October 2026 the dollar OVDPs in circulation carry coupons of 3.13% to 4.17% a year, and the euro ones 3.18% to 3.24%.

The government does not place currency bonds at every auction: according to the NBU, no dollar or euro OVDPs were placed in September 2026, nor at the auctions of 13 and 20 October. What a bank or broker can offer you in dollars or euros depends on what it holds.

How to Buy OVDPs: a Bank, a Broker or Diia

Individuals do not buy OVDPs from the Ministry of Finance directly. There is always an intermediary: a financial institution licensed on Ukraine's capital market both to trade financial instruments (dealer and broker activity) and to keep securities accounts (depository activity). That can be a bank or a non-bank broker. The institution opens a securities account for you, sells you bonds from its own holdings and records them in your account.

Through a bank or broker

The most common route is the bonds section of a Ukrainian bank's or broker's app. You typically sign an investment services agreement and a securities account agreement, choose an issue and a number of bonds, and pay. Coupons and the face value are paid to the current account named in the agreement. Institutions differ in which issues they offer, at what price, with what fees and with what minimum. Those are the things to compare, not the brand.

Through Diia

Ukrainian citizens can also buy war bonds through Diia, the government services app. The procedure approved by resolution No. 1034 (as amended on 3 August 2025) works like this:

1. The service is open to Ukrainian citizens aged 18 or over who have a taxpayer registration number (RNOKPP).
2. In Diia you choose the "Military Bonds" service and the financial institution you want to buy from.
3. Coupons and the face value are paid to a current account with a Diia.Card, which you can open within Diia.
4. The application shows the issue (its code and maturity), the yield, the price of one bond, the number of bonds and the total cost.
5. The institution checks the application and sends you the agreements and the purchase order to sign with Diia.Signature, and you pay.
6. The bonds are credited to your securities account at the institution, and the account statement arrives in Diia.

So Diia is a convenient way to submit the application, not a seller: the chosen institution sells and records the bonds on its own terms. It can cancel the application if it does not hold enough bonds of the issue. On the first purchase, Diia also passes the institution your employment and income details, as the procedure provides.

Investing from outside Ukraine

Diia is for Ukrainian citizens, and the purchase routes above run through Ukrainian institutions. For foreign investors, the National Bank of Ukraine, which keeps the central record of OVDPs, maintains a link with the international depository Clearstream (as stated on its OVDP page as of October 2026). Whether your own broker offers OVDPs, and on what terms, is a question for that broker.

What one bond costs

The price of one bond is close to its face value — around 1,000 hryvnias for a hryvnia issue — but rarely exactly that. It depends on the market yield, on how much coupon has accrued since the last payment and on the institution's markup. The minimum purchase is one bond, although an institution can set its own conditions.

What OVDPs Yield

The Ministry of Finance sells new OVDPs at auctions, and the NBU publishes the placement results. Yields change from one auction to the next, so the figures below are a snapshot on given dates, not a promise.

The table shows the weighted average yield at each auction. According to the NBU, the highest yield on hryvnia OVDPs at auction in September 2026 was 16.5% a year.

The NBU key policy rate is one of the reference points for these yields. As of 20 October 2026 it stands at 16% a year after a decision of 17 September 2026, and the next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for 29 October 2026. It is not the only factor: at auction, yields are set by supply and demand.

Auction yield versus the yield you get

Primary dealers and their clients buy bonds at auction. A bank or broker then sells you bonds from its holdings with a markup, and some also charge a fee. That is why the yield a retail buyer sees is usually lower than the auction yield. There is no official data on how much lower: the gap depends on the institution and the issue.

Compare the yield to maturity at the price you are offered, not the coupon rate. The coupon is the same for every holder of an issue, while the yield depends on the price: the more you pay, the less you earn. You can check an offer in the bond yield calculator: enter the price, coupon and maturity date of the issue, and it shows the yield to maturity and the total coupons.

Nominal and real yield

OVDP yields are nominal, before inflation. According to an NBU comment of 12 October 2026, consumer inflation in Ukraine was 10.0% year on year in September 2026. A rough real yield for the one-year issue from the 20 October auction is about 4.6% (1.1501 ÷ 1.10 − 1). Future inflation may differ, so treat this as a guide, not a guarantee. Inflation and Why Money Loses Value explains how inflation eats into returns.

How OVDPs Are Taxed

The key tax feature for individuals in Ukraine is that OVDP income is not taxed. Under the Tax Code of Ukraine (version of 17 September 2026):

• interest on government securities issued by the Ministry of Finance is not included in an individual's taxable income (subparagraph 165.1.2);
• investment profit from transactions with them, including exchange-rate differences, is not taxed either (subparagraph 165.1.52);
• the military levy does not apply to this income (subparagraph 1.7, paragraph 16-1, subsection 10, section XX).

This covers hryvnia, currency and war bonds alike. By contrast, deposit interest in Ukraine is taxed at 18% personal income tax plus the 5% military levy, 23% in total, withheld by the bank when the interest accrues. The exemption is specific to OVDPs: corporate bonds and most other investment income are taxed. These are Ukrainian rules; if you are taxed in another country, it may tax the interest under its own rules.

OVDPs or a Bank Deposit

This is one of the most common questions in Ukraine, and the answer depends on three things: the after-tax yield, the guarantees and access to your money. How to judge a deposit itself on these points is covered in Is a Bank Deposit Worth It?

Deposit rates are the UIRD index for a standard deposit at 20 leading Ukrainian banks as of 19 October 2026 (index.minfin.com.ua). For OVDPs the table shows the auction yield and the coupon; the retail yield will be lower by the institution's markup. Individual deposits can also pay more than the index.

Beyond yield, the two differ in guarantees and in who carries the risk:

• Guarantee. Deposits are covered by Ukraine's Deposit Guarantee Fund. As of October 2026, during martial law and for three months after it ends, deposits in banks declared insolvent are repaid in full. After that, the cap returns to UAH 600,000 per depositor per bank. An OVDP is not a deposit, even when bought through a bank, so the Fund does not cover it. The risk is the state as a borrower, not the bank.
• Access to money. Early withdrawal from a deposit is governed by the deposit agreement. An OVDP can be sold before maturity, but at the market price, which may be above or below what you paid.
• Locked-in rate. Both a term deposit and an OVDP lock in their yield for their term, as long as you hold them to the end.

Neither replaces a cash reserve you can reach at any moment; Emergency Fund explains how to build one.

Selling Before Maturity

You do not have to hold an OVDP to the end. According to the NBU, OVDPs trade on the secondary market between professional market participants and their clients, individuals included. You sell through the institution that keeps your securities account, at the price it offers on the day.

That price depends on market rates. If rates have fallen since you bought, the bond is worth more, and selling can bring a gain on top of the coupons received. If rates have risen, the price has dropped, and selling locks in a loss, whereas holding to maturity would return the full face value. The Diia procedure covers buying only, so ask the institution that holds your bonds about selling.

The Risks

OVDPs are government debt, so they are usually seen as safer than company debt. But they do carry risks:

• Sovereign credit risk. The state repays the bond. That risk is not zero, and the Deposit Guarantee Fund does not cover it.
• Inflation. If inflation turns out higher than the yield, your money loses purchasing power even when every coupon arrives on time.
• Currency risk. Hryvnia OVDPs do not protect against a weaker hryvnia. Dollar and euro bonds do, at a lower coupon. For an investor whose spending is in another currency, hryvnia bonds add exchange-rate risk on top of everything else.
• Price risk. If you have to sell before maturity after rates have risen, you get back less than you paid.
• Intermediary markup. The higher the purchase price, the lower your yield. A few hryvnias per bond make a visible difference, especially on short issues.

Risk and Return explains how risk and expected return relate across asset types.

What to Check Before Buying

• Term. Pick an issue that matures when you will need the money. Then price swings along the way do not affect your result.
• Currency. Think about the currency of your future spending. Holding part in hryvnia and part in currency OVDPs is one way to reduce dependence on the exchange rate.
• Yield to maturity. Ask the bank or broker for the yield at the purchase price, or work it out in the calculator, and compare several institutions.
• Fees and accrued coupon. Check whether the price includes accrued coupon and whether there are separate fees for buying, custody or selling.
• Reserve. Keep money for unexpected expenses separately, somewhere you can reach it at once.

Summary

OVDPs and war bonds are loans to the Ukrainian state for a fixed term at a fixed yield, free of Ukrainian personal income tax and the military levy. As of 20 October 2026, hryvnia issues sold at auction at about 15–16.4% a year, and individuals can buy them through a bank, a broker or Diia, which simply passes the application to the chosen institution. Before buying, compare the yield to maturity at the real price across several institutions, match the term to your goal, and remember that OVDPs are not covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund and that selling early happens at the market price.