Dear colleagues, fellow Ukrainian citizens.

I would like to start our session from the fact that back yesterday we managed to stabilize electricity supply throughout the country following the attack of russian terrorists on our energy infrastructure on October 10-12. The schedule of forced outages for the population has not been applied the previous day. Now our energy system is operating stably. We express gratitude to the Ukrainian energy workers for their professionalism and courage.

In turn, at our Government’s session we are to adopt a decision on allocating funds from the Reserve Fund for repair activities in the regions affected, in particular, by the rocket bombardment recently. We are talking about the allocation of UAH 300 million to Kyiv region and UAH 57 million to Sumy region. This will allow to quickly carry out repairs of critical infrastructure objects that were destroyed both during the occupation and during the recent missile strikes.

The capacity of main power transmission lines is currently reduced due to numerous destructions as a result of bombardments. Energy companies need time to restore the reliability of energy supply to consumers. During this time, it is critical to reduce the load on networks to avoid accidents. Therefore, the call to voluntarily reduce consumption during the day, and especially during the morning and evening peaks of consumption, remains relevant.

The stable operation of our energy system is also vital to ensure the economy operation.

The Ukrainian economy has been functioning on a war footing. The state has become one of the major customers, including for the private sector. More than 3,000 enterprises are currently working for the mobilization needs of the economy. These enterprises, institutions and organizations provide for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, military formations and critical areas of the front and rear.

Apart from that, the Government continues to support businesses through soft credit programs. During the period of martial law in Ukraine, within the framework of the State Program Affordable Loans at 5-7-9%, loans for UAH 54 billion were issued to more than 13,500 businesses.

Today the Cabinet of Ministers shall approve a resolution facilitating the attraction of up to UAH 60 million in preferential loans by enterprises that lost their production facilities due to the war. We are talking about facilities that were either destroyed, damaged or located in the occupied territories. This new program will allow some businesses to resume their work. The loan will be provided for investment purposes or for working capital financing. The state guarantees up to 80% of the body of the loan to the bank. The credit is granted for up to 5 years. A new or revamped enterprise cannot be placed closer than 50 kilometers to the frontline

We know that there are dozens and hundreds of businesses in Ukraine that are ready to restart work, invest their own funds, return employees, but they required additional support from the state. We will now provide such support

Two other Government’s programs will also prolong operation, in particular, payments for hiring displaced persons and the provision of non-refundable eRobota grants.

Within the framework of the program of compensation for hiring displaced persons the Gov’t has already paid out about UAH 150 million. We are talking about more than 13,000 citizens who got a job as a result.

More than a thousand grants have already been issued under the eRobota program. UAH 250 million for micro-businesses. Another 320 million UAH for the creation of almost 50 new factories in the field of processing. These are food and furniture production, wood and metal processing, production of electrical and mechanical equipment. In other words, we are already talking about the creation of thousands of new jobs, and this is only the beginning of the program.

Finally, I note that today we also have an important resolution that introduces the possibility of using reuse projects in construction. I point out to the approach that first, a project is developed for a specific object, and then this project with minimal changes can be used for the construction of other housing objects. Such an approach will allow us to speed up construction activities and reduce its costs. The projects can be used to rebuild objects that have been damaged or destroyed due to attacks by russian troops.

In 2023, the Government will continue assistance programs for Ukrainian businesses in order to gradually rehabilitate our economy.

A sound and sustainable economy is one of the pillars for our victory over the enemy. Therefore, everyone who works, invests, hires people and pays taxes today makes an important contribution to the future victory of Ukraine.

I need to say special thanks to our military.

Today, Ukraine celebrates the Defenders Day – day of men and women who stand for us.

The soldiers of the last century and the soldiers of today have the same enemy - russia and its sick imperialism. The enemy, who still remembers with fear the courage and heroism of the Ukrainian liberation movement, will also remember in the long end the indomitability and strength of the Ukrainian defenders, who have preserved the best features and fighting traditions of their ancestors even today.

We have been fighting! We continue our battle! And we will win!

Glory to Ukraine!