Distinguished colleagues! Fellow Ukrainians!

We commence a regular meeting of the Government.

The defense of Ukraine is our absolute priority. All branches of power are working in a coordinated manner to bring about our victory.

That is why today I will start by thanking the Ukrainian Parliament for adopting the Government's draft law on strengthening defense capabilities. We have added more than UAH 300 billion to the defense budget.

These are funds to pay salaries to the military, to provide them with food, and to purchase equipment and military hardware. This is what they need right now.

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In the budget for 2024, we lay out almost UAH 1.7 trillion for security and defense.

Of this amount, about UAH 56 billion is intended for military production and more than UAH 48 billion for the replenishment and development of the drone army.

We rely on the development of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex. It is based on new design solutions, manufacturability, technology transfer, and the creation of joint ventures with allies and partners.

For this purpose, the Government simplifies the import of UAVs to the greatest extent possible.

It has expanded the list of military and dual-use goods that can be imported without the permission of the State Export Control Service.

We have removed bureaucratic obstacles to the procurement of Ukrainian drones. Today with a separate resolution we simplify the import of raw materials for the production of ammunition and UAV warheads. This will ensure that Ukrainian needs are met and allow for increasing the production of drones.

This year the production of UAVs has already grown a hundredfold and will grow even more.

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An additional important resource for drones, military equipment and ammunition is military personal income tax. We expect MPs to adopt a government bill in the second reading that will reallocate these funds to meet defense needs. In this way, we will raise tens of billions of hryvnias for the Ukrainian defense industry.

Ukraine will have its own powerful and reliable weapons that will bring our victory closer. At the same time, communities will continue to fulfill their obligations to people - in 2024, local authorities will receive more than UAH 300 billion.

The funds already accumulated will also remain on the ground. Over 9 months of 2023, the balances on the accounts of local budgets increased by almost UAH 88 billion and amounted to more than UAH 203 billion.

In September alone, communities received UAH 16.9 billion of transfers from the state: basic, additional, reverse and other subventions. The total sum of transfers this year amounted to more than UAH 109 billion.

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Along with defense, comprehensive support for veterans is the second most important task. The new veterans' policy means attention and respect for every defender.

The key is the Veteran's Assistant project that aims to help with employment, training and social protection for people who have returned from war. The project has already been launched in Vinnytsia, Dnipro, Lviv and Mykolaiv regions.

The Government extends it to six more regions: Zakarpattia, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv regions and the city of Kyiv.

550 veterans' assistants will work in communities and will have direct contact with defenders.

In the future, we plan to increase the number of assistants to 15,000. This will allow us to reach everyone who needs advice and support.

Simultaneously, we proceed with the reform of the MEC (Medical Examination Commission) and the MSEC (Medical-Social Expert Commission) to create a fast, inclusive and transparent system without bureaucracy and corruption based on the principle of "certificates follow the military".

We are developing electronic services so that every defender can get the service they need in a few clicks.

We are helping to establish veteran businesses. UAH 47 million in grants have already been awarded to veterans and their families.

We are preparing to open modern rehabilitation centers throughout Ukraine. We are increasing the state order for rehabilitation specialists.

We are giving veterans access to preferential mortgages under the eOselia program.

By 2024, we are doubling funding for veterans' programs. We will spend UAH 14.3 billion to support our defenders.

Every Ukrainian is grateful to the soldiers for their feat, heroism and dedication. Therefore, veteran policy is one of the priorities of our joint work.

Thank you for your attention!

Glory to Ukraine!