Dear colleagues, fellow Ukrainians!
We are starting a meeting of the Government.
Today, our attention is focused on Switzerland, where the World Economic Forum in Davos has started, and where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian delegation are working.
The Head of State has already held important talks with the Swiss leadership and Swiss parliamentarians.
The main objective is to increase Switzerland’s support for Ukraine, to consolidate support for the Ukrainian peace formula and to prepare for the Peace Summit at the level of heads of state and government.
A meeting of the national security and foreign policy advisors of the heads of state and government on the implementation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula was also held. More than 80 states and international organisations took part in the meeting.
This paves the way for the Global Summit. It will be a meeting of heads of state and government that will bring a just and lasting peace closer.
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Ukraine is currently crossing the equator of the heating season.
This autumn-winter period is going on as planned thanks to large-scale repairs, accumulation of energy resources and protection of critical infrastructure facilities.
This is the merit of our power engineers, gas sector workers, district heating companies and, of course, our heroic air defence forces. I sincerely thank them all for their excellent work.
In the energy sector, we have restored 2.2 GW of heat and power generation capacity after last year’s massive russian attacks. Currently, the electricity produced in Ukraine is sufficient to meet domestic demand.
Thanks to the growth of export and import capacities, we can also import larger volumes of electricity from our western neighbours and obtain emergency aid if necessary.
The Government has ensured that the tariffs for heat, gas and electricity for households will remain unchanged.
People in need will receive housing and utility subsidies. The procedure is simplified as much as possible, the applicant submits a minimum of data, the rest of the information is collected by the Pension Fund.
This year, the state budget earmarks UAH 50 billion for housing and utility subsidies for 3 million Ukrainian families. This is about 25% more than last year.
We urge people to use this instrument of targeted state support. Subsidies not only help specific families, but also increase the level of payments for utilities. This means greater resilience of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and the ability to provide light and heat in every home.
We are using domestically produced gas for the 2023-2024 heating season. Currently, there are about 11.3 billion cubic metres of gas in storage facilities. This is enough to successfully complete the heating season.
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Another priority for us is housing. This year we continue to successfully implement the eVidnovlennia programme.
More than 35,000 Ukrainian families whose property was damaged have received UAH 3.2 billion in payments from the state.
In total, more than 67,000 applications have been received under this component of the programme. Most of them are from Kharkiv, Kyiv and Mykolaiv regions.
Under the second component of the programme – destroyed property – 8,400 applications were registered. More than 2,000 housing certificates worth almost UAH 3.7 billion have been generated. More than 540 certificates have already been booked. This means that their owners will soon buy their houses.
Today, we are adopting a resolution that improves the mechanism for implementing the eVidnovlennia programme.
We are making it easier to terminate the ownership of a destroyed facility. We are improving the interaction of ministries in the exchange of information. We are establishing a clear algorithm for appeals against the actions of the Commissions. We are updating the procedure for the accumulation of funds and their use for the construction of a private, garden or summer house. We are also making other changes.
The main aim is to eliminate inconveniences and discrepancies in order to simplify as much as possible the path from application to compensation, purchase or construction of housing.
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Another important decision on the agenda concerns the defence of the state, which is the No. 1 priority for all of us.
We are allocating UAH 792 million from the reserve fund of the state budget to strengthen our defence capability.
These additional funds will be allocated to military units for very urgent needs. For the purchase of ammunition, thermal imagers, drones.
We are talking about additional funding for each brigade (in proportion to the personal income tax paid in December)
We are strengthening our army to effectively counter the enemy, to liberate and defend our lands, and to win as soon as possible.
Thank you for your attention! Glory to Ukraine!