Statement by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at Government session

Dear colleagues, fellow Ukrainians.

Every day Ukraine is fighting for its peaceful European future.

This is a difficult path on which our country is paying a very high price.

We are grateful to all our soldiers who are holding the line in all areas.

For our part, we are doing everything we can to provide the army and the frontline with everything they need.

The key issue is the financial resources needed for Ukraine’s sustainability.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Government has attracted more than USD 100 billion in external financing.

We have received most of the funds from the EU, the U.S., the IMF, Japan and Canada. We are grateful to every country and international organisation that supports us.

This week, we attracted a USD 1 billion 350 million grant from the United States.

In addition, this week the European Commission approved the allocation of EUR 4.1 billion to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility.

We are successfully implementing the programme with the IMF. For the first time in its history, Ukraine has completed the 5th review under one programme.

We have fulfilled all structural benchmarks for the 6th review and expect to receive another USD 1.1 billion from the Fund by the end of this year.

Today, we are also making a decision to attract a concessional loan from the World Bank for more than USD 1 billion. These funds have been accumulated thanks to the Governments of Japan and the United Kingdom. We are grateful for this support.

Another decision we are making today will allow us to attract an additional EUR 150 million from the European Union. Under this agreement, the funds will be used to restore port infrastructure and implement rapid recovery projects.

EUR 65 million of these funds will be used to finance a programme of free meals for primary school students in 2025. This programme was initiated by the President of Ukraine and is already in place. Now we are providing the necessary funds for it to work next year.

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Today, we are also making a decision that is part of the winter support for Ukrainian families.

On the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, starting from 1 December, every Ukrainian will receive UAH 1,000 to pay for Ukrainian services and goods.

Today, the Government is approving the procedure for implementing this project. We are determining how, where and when the funds can be received and where they can be spent.

Since the programme applies not only to adults but also to children, we are also determining how a parent can order a payment for their child.

I would like to emphasise once again that when deciding on the Winter ePidtrymka the Government has three main goals:

The first is to provide financial support to Ukrainian families. Funds from the Winter ePidtrymka programme can be spent on medicines, books, clothes, bus and train tickets, utilities and other services, and many more important and essential things for our people.

The second goal is to support Ukrainian service providers and Ukrainian manufacturers, as they will be the ones to receive the funds, and this is an additional stimulus for the economy.

The third goal is to once again demonstrate the unity of Ukrainian society, as one of the options for using the funds is to support the Ukrainian army by transferring funds to the charity accounts of the Security and Defence Forces or a volunteer fund you trust.

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We have repeatedly emphasised that it is the funds of our allies and partners that help finance priority social, humanitarian and economic programmes. This is one of the conditions for receiving them.

At the same time, every hryvnia of taxpayers’ money from the budget goes exclusively to finance our defence. Therefore, it is important for us to find a balance between a functioning economy and the needs of the army.

As promised, by 15 November, we had audited the enterprises and organisations that have the status of critical enterprises and have the right to reserve employees.

The audit revealed a number of issues that need to be addressed.

Today, the Government is updating the reservation criteria and the criteria for obtaining the critical enterprise status. These updates relate to the principle of fairness.

First of all, the regional and sectoral criteria for critical enterprise status will now be agreed with the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Economy.

Secondly, for the private sector, the salary criterion and the absence of debts to the budget are now mandatory requirements for reserving employees. In particular, the average salary in the company and that of the reserved employee must be at least 2.5 minimum wages. This will reduce the risk of abuse when companies hire a person for the sake of a “shadow” reservation arrangement.

All reservations from 1 December will be made through Diia.

Monthly monitoring of companies and organisations will be carried out to ensure that they meet all the criteria.

The responsible ministries have been instructed to explain in detail all aspects and logic of the updated system. It is necessary to provide comprehensive answers to all questions.

The new procedure will be effective from 1 December. At the same time, all those who already have deferrals will have a transition period to the new conditions until 28 February. By this date – 28 February – all companies must renew their employees’ reservations in accordance with the new conditions, regardless of how and when the reservation was made.

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We thank everyone who works for Ukraine’s defence and resilience.

We thank everyone who is currently defending our country on the frontline.

Together we will stand and win.

Glory to Ukraine!