Distinguished colleagues, fellow Ukrainians.

The second winter in the context of a full-scale invasion is over.

We went through it without a single blackout and without applying blackout schedules for the whole country.

Today, on the first day of spring, we must utter important words, that the power system is operating stably. No restrictions are applied to consumers.

A year and even six months ago, many did not believe that this would be possible.

But our preparation has played a key role here. The protection of energy facilities was in place. A stock of backup equipment has been created. 90% of the trunk power grids have been restored. More than 2 GW of capacity was added to the system due to repairs.

The capacity to import electricity from the EU was increased to 1.7 GW.

In December 2023, Ukraine finally became a member of the Energy EU. Ukrenergo has become the 40th full ENTSO-E member. Our power system is fully synchronized with the European one.

Over the past 1.5 years, step by step, we have built a powerful energy coalition in support of Ukraine.

Our international partners have transferred hundreds of units of critical equipment. More than EUR 400 million has been accumulated in the Energy Support Fund.

All of this is to ensure that today Ukrainian families have electricity, Ukrainian entrepreneurs have electricity, and our economy is working.

Special thanks to the Ukrainian power engineers who made this possible.

Today more than 8.5 billion cubic meters of gas are stored in Ukraine's underground storage facilities. There are more than 1 million tons of coal in storage facilities. We must confidently complete this heating season and immediately begin preparations for the next winter.

Another key element of Ukraine's energy strategy - an increase in domestic gas production.

In 2023, the state-owned Naftogaz launched 86 new wells. Despite the war, gas production increased in 2023. The goal for 2024 for the Naftogaz Group is to reach 15 billion cubic meters of gas production.

This is critical for our energy independence and sustainability.

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Speaking of Ukraine's energy victories, we cannot but thank our international partners.

We are grateful for existing and new support programs.

We are also grateful to the European Union for the final approval of the Ukraine Facility instrument. This is EUR 50 billion for 4 years.

This is support for investment, support for our economy and our progress towards EU membership.

This year we expect to receive EUR 16 billion of budgetary assistance from the EU.

Today, we approve the Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the European Commission on the Reform and Recovery Support Program. The agreement provides for an increase in the total budget of the program to EUR 374 million. These funds will be used to restore the destroyed infrastructure, support small farms and other agricultural producers, as well as modernize checkpoints adjacent to the EU border.

As for joint projects with international partners. Today, we will adopt and submit for ratification to the Verkhovna Rada an agreement with Slovenia to support the humanitarian demining program in Ukraine.

Slovenia will provide a grant of more than UAH 50 million (EUR 1.5 million) to help us speed up the demining process.

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In the area of humanitarian demining, we pay special attention to the survey of agricultural land. This allows farmers to return to work in all regions, including the de-occupied communities.

Ukraine has already started the third sowing season during the full-scale war. Due to the warm weather, this sowing season is underway in 4 regions in the South. The Government supports and will defend the interests of Ukrainian farmers in all aspects.

Today we will also adopt and submit to the Parliament a draft law on the State Agrarian Register.

This registry has already been created, but it is important to regulate its work with a separate law and expand its functions.

115,000 users are registered in this register. This is a simple and clear tool through which the State helps Ukrainian farmers.

We also have another decision on the agenda for the development of the agricultural sector in Ukraine.

The Government has launched the eRobota program, and one of the components of this program is non-refundable grants for planting gardens and vineyards.

Thanks to the new changes, it will now be possible to receive UAH 330,000 for planting one hectare of grapes.

We are increasing the amount of compensation by UAH 105,000 per hectare. The maximum grant amount is UAH 10 million.

This money does not need to be returned if all the requirements are met, the main one being to create jobs.

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eRobota is one of those successful state programs that have already created thousands of new businesses and tens of thousands of new jobs. This is what is contributing to the recovery of our economy and the restoration of our country.

Another such program is eOselia. It is a program of preferential mortgage loans. Already 7,600 Ukrainian families have benefited from this program. Most of them are military and law enforcement officers.

Today, the Government will approve the procedure for using funds for Ukrfinzhytlo and, accordingly, the eOselia program for 2024. We allocate almost UAH 1.5 billion for this purpose.

This year, we plan to issue about 12,000 preferential mortgage loans.

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And finally. About pensions. Today, we begin the third indexation during the full-scale war.

In March, all our pensioners will receive increased payments. Pensions will grow by 8%.

We will continue to help those who need it most. We will continue to rebuild our country.

Thank you for your attention.

Glory to Ukraine!