Good afternoon, dear colleagues, fellow Ukrainians.

We are starting a regular meeting of the Government.

The Ukrainian maritime logistics corridor has been operating for six months now. Six months ago, we lifted the blockade of the Black Sea and revived Ukrainian maritime trade.

At the same time, we managed to launch a project to insure our exports against war risks. It is about insuring ships calling at our ports.

And now we can talk about the results.

More than 660 ships have already passed through the new grain corridor, carrying some 20 million tonnes of cargo to 32 countries. 70% of these cargoes are products of our agricultural producers.

In January, we reached pre-war export volumes by sea, and in terms of total exports, we are already approaching the figures we had before the full-scale invasion.

Last month, Ukraine’s total exports in monetary terms amounted to USD 3.1 billion, of which USD 1.9 billion were maritime exports.

This is helping us to accumulate domestic resources. In fact, every hryvnia that comes into the budget from exports is spent on defence. For better provision of the military, for drones and ammunition, for innovative defence products and much more.

I thank the Ukrainian military for the security of Black Sea logistics.

I thank Ukrainian entrepreneurs for their economic activity that strengthens the state.

I thank our partners who supported our insurance projects.

Indeed, the increase in exports strengthens our economy.

In the first month of 2024, the state budget received 14% more taxes and 30% more customs duties than planned.

In total, the general fund of the state budget received UAH 116 billion, and the total revenues to the general and special funds amounted to UAH 154.2 billion.

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The strengthening of the economy and finances is further transformed into the strengthening of our defence capabilities.

And here it is important to use not only the state budget funds but also the resources of Ukrainian regions and communities as efficiently as possible.

During a coordination meeting in Kropyvnytskyi, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the Government to develop a mechanism for purchasing electronic warfare systems at the expense of regional and local budgets.

Therefore, I am asking the Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, the Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration, and the Minister of Defence to develop such a procurement mechanism, to work out the issue of bringing the purchased equipment onto the balance sheet and integrating it into the overall system that will defend our critical infrastructure.

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Social decisions are also on our agenda.

We are approving the Procedure for recalculating the cost of utilities for heat, water and rubbish collection. This is a clear algorithm based on the principle of “pay for what you get”.

It is important for us that the utilities provided are of high quality and meet the declared standards. People should see that they are paying for services that are actually provided.

I would like to remind you that utility tariffs for electricity, gas and heat for the population remain unchanged until the end of the heating season.

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Just as we support our people, we continue to support our communities. This is especially true when it comes to recovery.

We are allocating nearly UAH 4.5 billion in subventions for recovery programmes to the local budgets in eleven regions. These are funds to restore social and critical infrastructure.

Last year, we managed to restore 37,400 facilities. These include 685 educational institutions, 390 medical and social institutions, almost 2,900 water, gas and heat supply facilities, 22,900 private and multi-storey residential buildings.

This year, we expect communities to use state aid effectively. The most important thing is for people to see the tangible results of the work of local authorities.

Thank you for your attention!

Glory to Ukraine!