Arseniy Yatsenyuk: I want to ask for patience, understanding and unity

The Government has assumed the full political responsibility for the state of affairs in the country and made the steps, which had not been done for 20 years, "We have agreed to these actions for the sake of the future", said Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk at a Government meeting on Wednesday, March 11.

"I realize how hard it is now for the majority of the citizens of Ukraine and the entire country. Russian military aggression, war, the incredible losses of the economy cost each Ukrainian citizen a fortune. And having such challenges the current Government and the Ukrainian people are facing, it is difficult to compare, which countries passed such tests", said Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

He noted that the current situation of Ukraine is often compared with the situation in Poland in the early 1990-ies, "What Ukraine makes today, resembles very much the Polish reforms, which were held then. Now the Polish economy has become one of the strongest economies in the European Union. There is only one difference – at those times Poland was not at war with Russia".

"We have embarked on these complex reforms that aren’t always perceived positively among Ukrainians at the present stage. But I am asking all of you to understand - without today's reforms we will not have our tomorrow. Our Government is fighting for tomorrow," said the Prime Minister.

He stressed that the Government "struggles neither for the ranking, nor for its popularity, as these reforms in the short term do not add any political advantages", "We know what we agreed to. We agreed to make these steps for the future and to have our tomorrow. The Government has assumed full political responsibility for the state of affairs in the country and made the steps, which had not been done for 20 years. Someone had to do that."

"We in synergy with my Government colleagues have made a political decision. It is our mission, that's our objective and we are doing it. That is why the International Monetary Fund is considering today an issue of granting a significant financial assistance to Ukraine", stressed the Head of Government.

He noted that against the reforms pursued by the Government, the Parliament and approved by the President, "stands Vladimir Putin, who a few days ago made a public statement, also the Opposition bloc, who led the country into bankruptcy, we are trying to lead it out of, and a group of politicians who want to get cheap political rating from the country in a state of war, "In support of our reforms there makes public statements G7, who advocate everything that was made today by the Government, our American and European partners as well. And they are helping the country to find the way out of this very difficult situation".

"I want to assure everyone that we will manage to cope with this situation. I want to ask for patience, understanding and unity. Let's think not about ourselves, but about our children and next generations. And how to pull the country out of this abyss. There is no another recipe", he stressed.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk emphasized that the Government had accepted this responsibility, and expressed his gratitude to the members of the Parliament of Ukraine, "who also assumed the political responsibility, to the President of Ukraine, who took a vigorous part in our talks with the IMF and helped to reach compromise. And to the Ukrainians, who in these difficult and turbulent times are willing, together with their country, to pass through these challenges for the sake of our future."

"It is not the end, it is just the beginning of a difficult but correct way. We should prolong, day after day, following our reform programme in the country", stressed the Head of Government.