On the occasion of the Day of Honoring the Participants of Elimination of the Chernobyl Accident Consequences, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal took part in a meeting dedicated to considering of social protection of liquidators on December 14, which was chaired by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The discussion was also attended by Minister of Social Policy Maryna Lazebna, Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyy, Minister of Health Viktor Liashko, Deputy Heads of the Office of the President Yulia Sokolovska and Oleksii Dniprov.

"I want to thank everyone who fought at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant to eliminate this accident, thank everyone who gave their lives, those who survived but completely ruined their health," said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister stressed that one of the main priorities of the Government's activities in the field of social policy remained improving the living conditions of participants in the liquidation of the Chernobyl accident aftereffects and their social protection.

"It is the obligation of the state to support people who have risked their own lives and health. In the State Budget of Ukraine for 2021, expenditures for social protection of liquidators were increased to UAH 2.5 billion. A UAH 2.8 billion resource has already been planned for 2022. This clearly demonstrates that the state is constantly increasing resources to support the Chornobyl tragedy victims," said Denys Shmyhal.

According to the Prime Minister, in July the Cabinet of Ministers decided that people with disabilities who had suffered as a result of Chornobyl disaster would receive an increased pension. The average increase in payments was over UAH 2,300.

"Besides, in March this year, all pensions for Chornobyl victims were indexed by 11%. Thanks to these actions, the average pension for liquidators is almost UAH 10,000," the Prime Minister said.

During the meeting, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented state awards to participants of the liquidation of the Chornobyl accident consequences. Denys Shmyhal also thanked the liquidators for their feat.

"Today we are honoring the heroic deed of the participants of the liquidation of the Chornobyl accident. Exactly 35 years ago, the rescuers' massive confrontation with the nuclear disaster had ended and a sarcophagus isolating the radioactive waste from the fourth reactor was put into operation. However, it’s worth remembering at what price this safety was achieved. That's hundreds of thousands of lives. We bow our heads in memory of the liquidators… Eternal glory to the heroes!" the Prime Minister told commemorating the liquidators.