Dear colleagues, fellow Ukrainians!
We are starting a regular meeting of the Government.
Today, the NATO Summit has started in Vilnius. It is an important event. We expect historic decisions that will bring our country closer to NATO membership.
Ukraine is an integral part of the global security architecture. We are now at the forefront of the struggle for the values around which the Alliance was created. Therefore, our country needs NATO as much as NATO needs our country.
This mutual benefit will determine the success of our Euro-Atlantic integration. Ukraine will be part of the Alliance, we will ensure our own security and make NATO even stronger and more reliable.
NATO membership is one of Ukraine’s geopolitical priorities. But here and now, the practical assistance provided by NATO and Allies is also important to us.
This assistance makes our Defence Forces stronger and helps us liberate our territories. We are grateful for this. We hope that this support will become even more consistent and systematic.
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We must become stronger every day. We have to restore our economy and our country. This is one of the main priorities of our Government.
We are now paying a lot of attention to projects related to overcoming the consequences of the russian terrorist attack on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. This crime by the russians threatened water supply for hundreds of thousands of people and several Ukrainian regions. We are working together with the communities and local authorities to address these issues.
We started laying water mains in Dnipropetrovsk region. These are three links with a total length of over 144 km.
The timeframes were set as short as possible. The work should be completed by autumn. Thanks to these projects, Kryvyi Rih, Marhanets and Nikopol will have water. We will do everything possible for this.
We already have the first interim results. In Pokrov, we have laid a water main and restored centralised water supply. Partial centralised supply has been restored in Nikopol and seven communities in Kryvyi Rih district.
I would like to remind you that the Government has allocated a total of UAH 1.5 billion for these works. Timely state assistance allows for fast and high-quality construction.
In addition to restoring access to water, it is important to rebuild people’s homes as soon as possible.
The eVidnovlennia programme provides Ukrainians with resources to repair damaged homes. Nearly 25,000 applications have been submitted by those affected. More than 1,400 applicants have already received financial assistance.
I am grateful to the hromadas that promptly set up commissions and verify the damage quickly. This allows Ukrainians to repair their homes before the winter.
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Reconstruction and recovery is one of the Government’s top 10 priorities for this year. At the same time, we are working in other related areas. In particular, the development of education and healthcare in the new realities.
Today, our state needs more rehabilitation therapists, more psychologists, more social workers. We have taken this into account in the state order for the training of specialists in 2023, which was approved by the Government today. For the Ministry of Health, we are increasing the number of state-funded seats by more than a thousand. We are also increasing the number of state-funded seats for social workers.
We will continue to implement changes to the state order system to ensure that there are enough specialists that Ukraine needs now and in the future.
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Finally, we have one more piece of positive news. Free roaming for Ukrainians in the EU has been extended for another year. The relevant agreement was signed by European and Ukrainian operators. This way, our people who have fled to safety will be able to stay in touch with their homeland. This is an important guarantee of their return home.
At the same time, we have an even more ambitious goal – we want to make the so-called “roaming visa-free regime” permanent. We have one year to bring Ukrainian legislation in line with European standards. After that, we will become part of the long-term Roam Like at Home agreement. This will be an important step in Ukraine’s sectoral European integration.
I am grateful to everyone who is working towards a common result.
We will continue to act in all strategically important areas in a focused, coherent and efficient manner.
Thank you for your attention! Glory to Ukraine!