Good afternoon, distinguished colleagues, dear Ukrainians.

Today, russian terrorists have shelled our energy infrastructure for the ninth time. We consider this terrorist activity of the russian leadership as another attempt to commit genocide of the Ukrainian people.

They kill our women and children, destroy civilian infrastructure, shell houses, roads, power grids. They have set a goal to leave Ukrainians without light, water and heat. The world should definitely respond to these actions of russia with quick and decisive steps.

We call on our partners to act to prevent the genocide of our people in front of the whole world. We need weapons to protect our people, our infrastructure and critical facilities. There must be strong and adequate sanctions for every shelling. This is a matter of Ukraine’s survival.

Today our air defense forces as always were on top and did not allow the enemy to plunge us into darkness. They shot down 60 out of 76 missiles. We thank the defenders of the Ukrainian sky for this.

But our defenders need more weapons, and power engineers need more equipment.

There are damaged energy facilities again – high-voltage substations and electricity generation. Once again there is a serious shortage in the power system. And now emergency blackouts are applied almost throughout the country.

We are mobilizing efforts to intensify assistance from the coalition of our allies.

In this context, an important event of this week was the visit of the Ukrainian government delegation to Paris. Two powerful events took place there: the International Standing with the Ukrainian People Conference, initiated by the Presidents of Ukraine and France, and the Forum on Economic Resilience and Reconstruction. In addition, there were a number of other important meetings and high-level communications.

There are already concrete results of the visit. These are loans, grants, goods that will soon arrive in Ukraine. In total, they amount to about EUR 1.5 billion. The International Standing with the Ukrainian People Conference alone attracted about EUR 1 billion. Part of it is equipment that will be transferred in the near future to restore the energy infrastructure of Ukraine.

A number of agreements worth more than EUR 530 million were also signed for the development of the digital sphere and rapid restoration of infrastructure.

A memorandum was signed with the International Finance Corporation, whereby we have clear prospects of receiving USD 2 billion for the projects of private and state-owned companies in such areas as trade financing for Ukrainian banks, agricultural sector, and small and medium business.

I thank President Macron, the people of France and all the partners for their support. Together we are stronger, together we will win.

During the negotiations in Paris, we focused on three topics.

The first one is nuclear security.

russian terrorists still threaten Ukraine and the world. They have deployed Grad multiple rocket launchers at Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and conduct shelling from the territory of the nuclear facility. russian terrorists blackmail, intimidate, use physical violence against Ukrainian workers of Zaporizhzhya NPP. These are unprecedented actions that history has never known.

The position of Ukraine is clear and unchanged. russian terrorists must withdraw from the Ukrainian station, ensuring a 30-kilometer demilitarized zone.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi promised that technical permanent missions of the agency would soon come to all nuclear power plants. Such mission will be expanded at ZNPP. This will reduce the risks of destructive influences from russia.

The second topic is energy.

We have agreed on a loan from the EBRD for the state-owned company Ukrenergo. It is worth EUR 300 million. Part of these funds will be used for immediate restoration of the power grid. In addition, the Netherlands will provide us with a EUR 70 million grant for the purchase of high-voltage equipment.

Besides, France and the EBRD have signed an agreement on emergency financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of EUR 100 million for the needs of energy and logistics.

At the initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, we are preparing a large-scale campaign for the free replacement of old inefficient lamps with LED lighting. Therefore, we agreed that the European Commission would procure 30 million LED lamps for Ukraine. Another 5 million LED lamps will be additionally provided by France. We plan to replace 50 million pieces in total. As a result, we will save up to 10% of electricity consumption during peak loads.

Energy assistance to Ukraine will continue. Paris saw an unambiguous consolidated position in this regard.

Small and medium Ukrainian entrepreneurs have already imported 500,000 low-power generators. But for the winter we need about 17,000 more large and industrial generator units. We hope to cover part of these needs with the help of our partners.

The third topic that is in the focus of attention is resources for recovery.

We have signed an agreement on the supply of French rails for Ukrzaliznytsia worth up to EUR 38 million. The project will be financed by the Government of France. We will restore all damaged railway sections.

Ukravtodor signed a Memorandum with the French company Matiere. It concerns the supply of prefabricated bridges worth EUR 25 million. russians destroyed and damaged 25,000 kilometers of roads and 315 bridges. With the support of French friends, we will be able to recover faster.

Ukraine has once again emphasized that reconstruction is not only about what will happen tomorrow, but also about how to act today.

So, relying on our own strength, with the support of the United States, Europe and the entire civilized world, we will survive this difficult winter to get closer to our final undisputed victory.

Thank you for your attention! Glory to Ukraine!