I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!
First and foremost, gratitude to our energy workers and repair crews – to everyone who is truly working around the clock to provide more electricity to people. The task is extremely difficult, given the scale of the Russian strikes that have taken place. Today, during the coordination call, we heard reports from most regions where problems persist – with a significant number of daily outages. Maximum resources were deployed. The situation remains most difficult – as before – in Kyiv, especially due to heating issues. More than 450 apartment buildings in several districts of Kyiv are without heat, most of them as a result of the strikes. There is also a significant number of heating failures. In many cases, these situations have to be addressed manually. The Government of Ukraine, the capacities of state-owned companies, and other regions of our country are engaged in providing assistance. Just as with the supply of weapons to Ukraine, the Ministry of Energy is now working on a daily basis on the supply of energy equipment – tracking every single agreement with our partners and all commitments of support for Ukraine to ensure all of them are implemented. What our partners have in stock and in production is also under virtually constant monitoring – including logistics to Ukraine and deployment in Ukraine. The process must be, and is, as clear and precise as possible.
Kharkiv and the region – recovery is ongoing after the strikes; the circumstances were difficult. Chernihiv, Sumy, Kyiv region, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and the entire Dnipro region, Poltava region, our Donetsk region, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv region, Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi and the region, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Chernivtsi, Khmelnytskyi, and Zhytomyr regions – for each of them, we are recording needs and the possibilities to provide assistance. It is important that the private sector is supporting communities and that government officials are launching special budget support programs to purchase essential items – generators and other equipment. A program is already in place that enables residential buildings to receive funds – from 100,000 to 300,000 hryvnias – for autonomous power supply. The Prime Minister has prepared a grant program for small businesses – for fuel for generators and for repairs to energy equipment. Zero-interest loans are already available for sole proprietors and small entrepreneurs to purchase generators and batteries. Additional programs will also be introduced. Government officials will present all the details – the Prime Minister, the Ministers for Restoration and Energy, and the team of the President’s Office are also working on this. Thank you to everyone for the support.
There was a report by the Security Service of Ukraine – by Oleksandr Poklad. Most importantly, the Security Service is neutralizing threats that, unfortunately, still persist against our state and Ukrainian citizens. Every result Ukraine achieves in defense is also a result in bringing peace closer. Poklad reported on Russian operations that were successfully blocked. I am grateful for this. We are neutralizing the enemy.
There was a report today by the Commander-in-Chief on the situation at the front. The Huliaipole sector, the Pokrovsk sector, and the defense in our Kharkiv region – we are holding our positions. It is important that Ukrainian units are strong; through this strength, they are adding resilience to our entire state.
Almost every hour, our negotiating team is in contact, including Rustem Umerov and other members of the delegation. We are communicating with our partners – with the American side – about truly effective formats and truly necessary results. Ukraine is ready for meetings, Ukraine is ready for decisions, and we expect our partners to be able to act as effectively as possible – in Europe, in the United States, everywhere. Exactly as required for a lasting peace. We don’t miss out on any opportunity to achieve peace and guarantee security. Thank you, America, for the efforts to halt strikes on energy. We hope the United States can make this happen. There is a statement today by the President of the United States. The situation tonight and over these days – the real situation at our energy facilities and in our cities – will show how things stand.
Glory to Ukraine!