Statement by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at Government session

Distinguished colleagues, fellow Ukrainians!

These days, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is paying crucial for Ukraine visits to the United States and Canada. We are working with Ukraine's allies to ensure support at all levels is not reduced.

We continue to build and strengthen the pro-Ukrainian coalition in all areas.

• Armed coalition for Ukraine's defence, so that the necessary means of defence become more available.
• Financial coalition for our economic stability and capacity to finance all budget expenditures.
• Energy Coalition to get us through the autumn and winter.
• Recovery Coalition to implement all planned projects within the framework of rapid recovery.

On September 26, the Steering Committee of the Multi-Agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine will convene a regular meeting. This is a platform for Ukraine's financial sustainability and reconstruction.

The Steering Committee of the Platform consists of senior officials from Ukraine, the G7 countries and the European Union, the Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Platform from Ukraine is Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine - Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development.

What key issues are on the agenda of the Platform's meetings?

First is the assistance in financing the budget deficit. We need to give our partners an understanding of the current financial situation, the budget for 2024, and the Government's expenditures. We expect our partners to support us in 2024 at the level not less than in 2023. This is about USD 42 billion. This requires daily and painstaking work with all our allies to raise this amount.

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The second issue to be discussed during the Platform's meeting is the need for rapid recovery in 2024.

We continue working in five areas: energy, humanitarian demining, restoration of housing, critical and social infrastructure, and assistance to the private sector.

Ukraine's rapid recovery needs remain at the level of up to USD 15 billion. This year, only a part of the needs has been funded, and the rest of the costs will be shifted to 2024.

We count on the support of international financial organisations and agencies, including the World Bank, the EBRD, the EIB, USAID, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and others.

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It is also essential to negotiate with partners the possibility of creating a single map of reforms. That is, to bring the requirements for financial assistance from various donors into a single instrument and plan of reforms for Ukraine, which our country will implement on its way to the EU.

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Another important story regarding recovery. Ukraine will launch a market for humanitarian demining services through Prozorro. In particular, we are developing a mechanism to compensate farmers and strategic enterprises for demining costs.

We are creating a transparent market for demining services. If an agricultural or other company purchases a demining service through Prozorro, receives this service and the relevant certificate from an officially licensed operator, the state will fully or partially reimburse the costs.

This should significantly accelerate the process of land clearance where possible. The draft budget for 2024 also includes UAH 2 billion for humanitarian demining.

A pilot tender for demining services has already been held in Zhytomyr region. The state saved UAH 100,000 of budget funds.

Moreover, we are planning to hold an international donor conference on Ukraine's humanitarian demining in Croatia in mid-October, which is expected to attract additional financial resources in this area.

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Finally, another one of our priorities. It is to upgrade the pension system.

The main goal is to ensure that every Ukrainian pensioner receives a solidarity pension of at least 30% of their average lifetime salary. Together with the accumulative component, which the Government planned to launch in 2025, the pension would amount to at least 50% of the average life-long wage.

Next year, the Pension Fund of Ukraine will receive UAH 896 billion, which is almost UAH 125 billion more than in 2023. These are funds for pensions, subsidies, and social insurance.

Starting 1 March 2024, we will index pensions for the second time during the great war. Next year, we plan to make this indexation, as well as the entire solidarity system, more fair, understandable, and transparent

A scoring system will be introduced in the calculation of pensions. It is aimed to equalise the disproportions between pensioners who have retired long ago and those who have done so recently. Accordingly, payments to pensioners who retired earlier will be adjusted to the current level.

How it will work?

Employed people pay a monthly contribution to the Pension Fund. The contribution will be converted into scores according to the ratio between the person's salary and the average salary in Ukraine at a given time.

If you paid contributions from a salary that is the national average, you will receive 10 points. Above the national average - you get, for example, 12 or more points, below the average - 8 points.

These points will then be transferred back to the pension each year in the same way, depending on the current average wage. This will make the solidarity pension system protected from inflation and devaluation.

Thank you for attention.

Glory to Ukraine!