Distinguished colleagues! Fellow Ukrainians!

Last night, russia once again committed a war crime against the civilian population of Ukraine. Our cities were attacked by cruise missiles and drones. I thank the heroic air defence forces for their excellent work - 21 out of 23 missiles were destroyed.

Unfortunately, there are casualties. Residential buildings in Cherkasy and Kyiv regions were hit. Fifteen people have died so far, including children in Uman, and in Dnipro, russian inhumans killed a woman and a small child. Rescue operations continue.

Eternal memory to the victims, condolences to their families and friends!

Ukraine will achieve justice. Everyone who gave criminal orders and those who executed them will be punished. No one will escape responsibility. russian terrorists will be destroyed, and Ukraine will be rebuilt under its peaceful sky.

The Government continues to cooperate effectively with European allies. Together, we are strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities and starting with the restoration.

This week, the Government delegation was in Italy. We had meetings with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, President Sergio Mattarella, Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto, the leadership of the Parliament, and representatives of Italian business.

The audience with Pope Francis I was symbolic and important. We appreciate the Pontiff's efforts to achieve peace on all Ukrainian lands and hope to see His Holiness in Ukraine.

Щодо головних результатів нашого візиту.

- A grand Recovery Conference was held at the initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with the participation of more than 500 Italian companies. They are interested in investing in Ukraine.

- Six memorandums of cooperation in the fields of ecology, industry, logistics, and energy were signed at the Conference.

- Kyiv and Kharkiv regions agreed on patronage with Italian partner regions.

- We have agreed and are expecting an additional EUR 1 billion financing for recovery projects from the Italian Export Credit Agency (SACE).

- We have determined the prospects for cooperation in the defence industry. In particular, the production of air defence system components to counter enemy drones.

- We look forward to the prompt transfer of weapons to Ukraine, which is part of the sixth package of Italian military and technical assistance.

- We have discussed ways to implement the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

- We witnessed Italy's strong support for Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

Besides, the Italian Parliament will shortly consider a bill recognising the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people. We hope for a positive decision.

We encourage businesses to work and create new jobs. To this end, we continue to issue grants under the eRobota programme. Since its launch, the State has already paid out more than 4,000 grants worth UAH 2.4 billion. Most of them were allocated for the development of processing enterprises. This opens up the prospect of increasing the share of non-resource exports as well as the inflow of foreign exchange earnings to the country. The Government will raise almost UAH 1.3 billion more from the State Employment Centre. This resource will also be directed to issue grants to businesses, in particular to the processing industry.

Humanitarian demining remains our priority. Up to 30% of Ukraine's territory is mined by the enemy. We need to accelerate the clearance of land, especially agricultural land. The action plan for demining is already being implemented. We are opening a special account of the Ministry of Economy. All those willing can donate funds to finance humanitarian demining.

We take an important step towards EU membership. In an attempt to synchronise Ukrainian and European standards in the field of public procurement, we endorse the decision of the EU-Ukraine Association Committee and the Association Council on mutual access to each other's public procurement markets. This applies to central, regional, and local authorities, as well as public law organisations of Ukraine and the European Union. Thereby, we are fulfilling our obligations under the Association Agreement and bringing the opening of EU accession negotiations closer.

We work consistently, rigorously and vigorously for the victory, security and well-being of people, for our common future in the family of European nations.

Thank you for your attention! Glory to Ukraine!