Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has proposed to continue the payment of compensation to depositors of the former Soviet savings bank Sberbank.

"Speaking about the payment of Sberbank savings, five million citizens have exercised this right. We should not stop. We have to move forward in this issue," the head of state said while opening a meeting of the Economic Reform Committee in Kyiv on Tuesday.

As reported, the government promised to pay compensation to Ukrainian depositors of Sberbank. The overall amount of compensations was estimated by UAH 131.96 billion as of 1996 when a relevant law was passed.

In 2008 the government led by former Premier Yulia Tymoshenko decided to pay UAH 1,000 as compensation to depositors of the Soviet-era savings bank. At that time around 6.4 million people received compensation, which was estimated to be worth UAH 5.8 billion.

In March 2012, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych instructed the government to pay compensation in June-December 2012 to the depositors that had been added to a special register by January 1, 2012. The government allocated UAH 6 billion for this purpose.

On September 1, 2012, Oschadbank started registering those depositors of Soviet-era Sberbank whose data were not put on the register of depositors, and updating information about depositors whose data was put on the register, and who obtained compensation in full in 2008.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on February 1, 2013 that the payment of compensation to depositors of the former Soviet savings bank Sberbank would resume soon