Dear colleagues! Fellow Ukrainians!

We are starting a regular meeting of the Government.

Defence is a top priority in our joint work.

During our visit to Volyn region, we inspected the progress of the construction of fortifications in the region. The regional administration is responsible for this work, and the construction is currently on track.

Fortifications are being built along the northern border and on the frontline, in the hottest areas. Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and other regions of Ukraine.

In 2024, the Government allocated almost UAH 38 billion for this purpose. The work is ongoing 24/7. We engage civilian contractors to equip all three lines of defence.

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The next aspect of our defence capability is innovation in the defence industry and defence tech. The Brave1 defence technology cluster has been operating for a year now. More than 1,600 developments in 12 areas have been registered.

These include drones, electronic warfare, robotic systems and the use of artificial intelligence.

The state helps the most promising developers to implement their projects. We have provided 186 grants worth more than UAH 120 million for research and development and production scale-up.

We have ambitious but realistic plans for this year. The state budget has earmarked UAH 1.5 billion for grants to defence-tech developers.

Today, the Government is also allocating an additional UAH 15.5 billion for the purchase of drones.

This is in addition to the UAH 43.3 billion we have already allocated for drones this year. The funds will go to State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection, which is in charge of procurement.

With the funds allocated today, 300,000 drones will be delivered to our Security and Defence Forces.

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Another national security issue is the situation in the energy sector.

During a working visit to Lviv and Volyn regions, we checked the progress of the construction of the second level of protection at power substations.

We understand that russia will continue to attack our energy facilities. Therefore, on the one hand, it is important to strengthen them with passive defences and, at the same time, to attract as much air defence as possible from our partners.

I am grateful to all states, organisations and institutions that help us to continue to be energy resilient.

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Another challenge is logistics.

The Ukrainian-Polish border is effectively unblocked. The plan of understanding presented by our Government has yielded results.

We hope that we have turned the page in our relations with Poland and that our relations will continue to be built on a pragmatic and mutually beneficial basis.

I am grateful to the Polish government and personally to Prime Minister Donald Tusk for their efforts in this direction.

Today we are making an important decision for the development of our cross-border logistics.

We are approving the procedure for using funds to purchase scanners for railway checkpoints. The state budget provides more than UAH 662 million for this purpose.

These scanners will be installed at the Volyn and Lviv customs offices. They will help to inspect cargo quickly and efficiently and speed up the movement of rail freight in both directions.

There is another decision that will be important for the recovery. We are authorising the State Emergency Service to provide paid services for assessing compliance with civil protection requirements.

This will intensify the certification of mine action operators. At the moment there are about 35 of them. We expect there to be many more.

We are creating a market environment for humanitarian demining. We are involving the private sector as much as possible to clear Ukraine of mine contamination in the shortest possible time.

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The next priority is for the state to fulfil its social obligations to its citizens.

Attracting macro-financial assistance from the European Union, the United States and other countries enables us to pay social benefits on time and in full, and implement other social projects.

In April, the state paid UAH 60.5 billion in pensions and UAH 5.3 billion in housing subsidies.

We also launched an important social initiative to provide free dental care to military personnel and veterans. This service is already provided by 45 medical institutions. The list will be expanded.

I am grateful to all those who are defending Ukraine at the front, who are working in the rear, who are doing their best to bring victory closer.

Thank you for your attention! Glory to Ukraine!