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ARTICLE

Statement by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at Government session
Communications Department of the Secretariat of the CMU
01 December 2023 16:29
https://www.kmu.gov.ua/en/news/promova-premier-ministra-ukrainy-denysa-shmyhalia-na-zasidanni-uriadu-01122023

Good afternoon, dear colleagues, fellow Ukrainians.
32 years ago, more than 90% of Ukrainians voted “yes” in the referendum on the independence of our country.

The idea of a free Ukraine was supported in every region, in every locality. Our struggle for the restoration of our own state and true independence was just beginning.

Today we are writing a new history of Ukraine. We know how high the price of freedom is. We continue our struggle for a strong, independent European Ukraine.

This month, the EU leaders’ summit is expected to make a historic decision to start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU. We are counting on it.

We continue sectoral integration. This week, Brussels confirmed the full completion of the synchronization of the Ukrainian and European energy systems. This is a great achievement for our country that was hard to imagine two years ago.

At the same meeting in Brussels, a decision was made that will allow Ukraine to import up to 1,700 MW of electricity from Europe. This is an additional 500 MW that will help us cover a possible deficit in the winter.
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Together with the EU and our partners, we are working in another important area – the restoration of Ukraine.
The main resource for our reconstruction should be the confiscated russian assets. Everyone understands that this is fair and right.

We expect that this month the European Commission will come forward with a plan to use russia’s frozen sovereign assets to support Ukraine.

Also this week, a bipartisan and bicameral group of members of the U.S. Congress introduced a bill on the confiscation of assets of sanctioned russian oligarchs for the benefit of Ukraine’s recovery. This document expands the confiscation capabilities of the U.S. Department of Justice and gives it the authority to transfer all funds from russian assets seized by the U.S. Government to Ukraine. We call on our partners to move forward.

Both the assets of russian oligarchs and the sovereign assets of russia should be subject to confiscation. This is the only way to show the kremlin regime that its strategy of attrition will not work.
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Ukraine has proposed a clear and understandable roadmap for the legitimate confiscation of frozen russian assets.
One of the key elements is the work of the international Register of Damage, which was established by a decision of the Council of Europe and will operate in the Netherlands.

Today, we will approve two documents that will contribute to the efficient functioning of the Register.

Given that this Register will operate in electronic form, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine should develop and submit technical requirements for the creation of software for such a Register. The Ministry of Digital Transformation should also develop a way for Ukrainians to submit claims for damages or losses through Diia.

The second document in this area is our proposal to classify the categories of damage subject to compensation. This will allow for a systematic approach to the provision of all information on losses, damage and harm caused by russia to the state of Ukraine, as well as to each individual Ukrainian citizen and legal entity.
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We also continue to move consistently towards membership in the Euro-Atlantic Alliance. This week, a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the level of Foreign Ministers took place in Brussels.

Ukraine presented a document called the “adapted Annual National Program”. This is a list of key reforms that we need to implement to bring us even closer to NATO standards. We received approval of our vision.

We are grateful to all the countries that support us on this path.
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Today, Ukraine spends all its resources on war and defense.
Nevertheless, thanks to the financial support of our partners, we continue to increase social benefits for those who need it most.

Pensions were 100% funded in November. UAH 57.8 billion was paid out. There are no delays. We are continuing the program of monthly supplements to old-age pensions.

Pensioners aged 80 and over will receive a monthly pension supplement of UAH 570. Pensioners aged 75-80 will receive UAH 456, and pensioners aged 70-75 will receive an additional UAH 300 per month.

In addition, together with UNICEF, we are continuing our support program for Ukrainian families. We are talking about payments to low-income families with many children in eight frontline districts of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions. These families will be able to receive UAH 3,600 per adult and UAH 6,600 per child for three months.
We are grateful to our partners for their help in implementing this important program.

We will continue to work.

For a strong Ukraine that wins and changes.

Thank you for your attention. Glory to Ukraine!