Dear colleagues, fellow Ukrainians!

We are starting a regular meeting of the Government.

Ukraine has entered a stable winter temperature regime. This means that the load on our energy system has increased. And at the same time the enemy is trying to do as much damage as possible to the Ukrainian energy sector.

The power grid is experiencing a capacity shortage, which we are forced to compensate for by attracting emergency assistance from our neighbours. We also import electricity from the EU and Moldova.

Unfortunately, we have already broken two consumption records for the heating season. The highest figures were recorded on 7 and 11 December.

Today, every Ukrainian can contribute to our energy sustainability.

All it takes is to save electricity, especially during peak hours in the evening and morning. Reasonable consumption will help balance the power system and avoid scheduled outages.

Last winter, our solidarity thwarted the russians’ intentions to plunge Ukraine into darkness. I am convinced that we will be able to repeat this victory this year.

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Reconstruction continues as planned.

We are starting to disburse funds for major repairs of damaged residential property under the eVidnovlennia programme. The maximum amount is UAH 350,000 for an apartment and UAH 500,000 for a private house.

We are expanding the opportunities to apply for participation in eVidnovlennia. Now it can be done not only through Diia, but also through administrative service centres and notaries. This will increase the number of participants in the programme.

In total, more than 26,000 families have already received money to repair their homes. The total amount of payments under the programme is more than UAH 2 billion.

We are also rebuilding hospitals and clinics so that people have universal access to medical services. Following the russian invasion, 847 health facilities have already been fully or partially restored.

We are grateful to all our partners who support the initiatives to rebuild Ukraine.

For example, the British government will help restore bridges in Kyiv region, the German government is providing funds for soft loans to IDPs, and Japan has announced the allocation of USD 4.5 billion for recovery programmes.

Ukraine and USAID continue to cooperate fruitfully in all key areas. One of the latest initiatives is a partnership with Ukrzaliznytsia to integrate it into the Trans-European Transport Network. USD 225 million will be provided for the construction of a 75 km double-track railway section.

Today, we are also adopting two decisions that will allow us to attract additional resources for reconstruction.

The first is an amendment to the grant agreement with the EIB for the modernisation of the water supply and sewage system in Mykolaiv. The amount of the grant will be increased from EUR 5 million to EUR 8 million.

The second decision is to attract EUR 4.5 million in grant funds from the IBRD and the International Development Association for the repair of damaged housing.

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Yesterday, a key decision for Ukraine was made by our reliable partner, the International Monetary Fund.

The Executive Board of the IMF approved the second review of the cooperation programme, which paves the way for the next tranche of USD 900 million for Ukraine. These funds will be used to finance priority budget expenditures.

It is important that the IMF has recognised our efforts in implementing structural beacons and reforms. This shows that Ukraine is changing, and even a full-scale war does not stop our reforms. On the contrary, we have accelerated and are demonstrating record-breaking timing of changes.

Last week, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a large package of European integration laws and laws to fulfil our obligations to the IMF. This includes strengthening the capacity of the NABU and the independence of the SAPO, expanding the capabilities of the NACP, taking into account the Council of Europe’s expert opinion on the law on national minorities, laws on criminalising smuggling and strengthening the independent judiciary.

I am grateful to the Speaker of the Parliament, MPs and government officials who were responsible for this result.

I hope we will continue to demonstrate such effective cooperation.

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Despite the huge economic downturn at the beginning of the large-scale war, the economy is now showing positive signs.

Thus, in the third quarter of this year, the country’s GDP grew by 9.3% compared to the same period last year. This is higher than expected.

The economy is positively influenced by Government business support programmes, infrastructure rebuilding, stable operation of the south-western export logistics corridor and other factors, including business awareness.

We have also managed to control inflation. Compared to November last year, consumer inflation was 5.1%. This is lower than in some of our western neighbours.

The second wartime harvest of some 78 million tonnes is almost complete. The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food predicts that the total harvest will be 81.3 million tonnes. This is 20% more than we expected during the sowing campaign.

The Ukrainian economy is proving highly adaptable, which will accelerate the recovery and create growth points for the future.

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Finally, I would like to congratulate a great friend of Ukraine, Donald Tusk, on his appointment as Prime Minister of Poland.

We are starting a new chapter in the relations between our countries.

We hope that in the future there will be more mutual understanding, more solidarity, more joint efforts for victory and a just peace.

Thank you for your attention!

Glory to Ukraine!