President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Ukrainian scientists, presented them with state awards, and conferred honorary titles.
The Head of State thanked the scientists for their work, ideas, and implemented projects. This helps Ukraine hold the front line, defend itself, and save lives. The scientists expressed their gratitude for the support of science and its development. According to them, the level of support is currently the highest since the restoration of independence.
“For all of us, science is about life – how to protect it, how to help, and how to turn ideas into reality. And some things that may seem completely impossible become real thanks to talented, intelligent people. I want to thank you that science in Ukraine is developing and thriving,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The President awarded scientists the Orders of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, IV and V class, of Merit, I–III class, and of Princess Olga, III class, and also conferred honorary titles of Merited Doctor of Ukraine and Merited Education Worker of Ukraine.
During the meeting, they discussed the development of air defense systems, in particular the creation of modern air defense and anti-ballistic capabilities. Separate attention was given to new technologies in the space sector and the possible involvement of university research and student developments in the state space program. They also discussed the need to support other socially important projects, their challenges, scaling, and funding.
“We very much want to increase salaries accordingly and finance relevant programs. We will do everything we can. We have already understood together that with technology come opportunities, strong defense, strong science, and strong army. All of this is now fully interconnected,” the Head of State stressed.
This year, Ukraine will launch an individual ranking system for supporting scientists – the National System of Researchers. The performance of scientists will be assessed annually across 14 fields. The evaluation methodology for scholarship recipients has already been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Ukrainian researchers’ outputs will be verified in national and international databases. The top 2,650 researchers in this ranking will receive a monthly scholarship of UAH 10,000 for two years. Payments will begin in August. Support is also provided for young scientists, women in science, and veteran researchers.
The Head of State was also presented with Ukrainian scientific developments in defense and medicine, including various types of drones already successfully used in combat, ground robotic systems with combat modules designed to intercept FPV drones and replace warriors in frontline positions, as well as advanced electronic warfare systems. In addition, there are developments enabling heart surgeries on wounded patients without stopping the organ.
