Dear members of the Government!

Today, our session will be devoted exclusively to social issues.

The first set of questions relates to benefits, subsidies and compensations for citizens of Ukraine. We look forward to the beginning of the heating season, respectively, people will receive utility bills. I would ask the Minister for Social Policy Liudmila Leontiivna to inform you clearly about what compensation mechanisms the Government has already implemented, what privileges and subsidies have been introduced by the Government and what the next steps the Government is going to undertake so as to help the poorest segments of the population.

I’m going to speak frankly - we are unable to help everyone at once. But after today's meeting of the Government we will make the third phase of assistance to the most needy, to compensate as much as possible the losses that people may suffer from changes in prices, tariffs: those people who are disabled; those people who are unable to earn themselves; those people who need help from the state. Our resources are limited, and we will think about how to make the third phase of compensation. This is the first set of social issues.

Secondly, regarding ATO participants. We’ve held a range of meetings and conferences. I would ask the Minister to report on how the system aimed at providing the status of ATO participants works. The next issue concerns the prosthesis of our guys at home and abroad.

The third set of questions relates to internally displaced persons, migrants. We have to take two decisions on IDPs - both for registration and for helping these people in order to let them survive the winter.

The next set of issues relates to medicine, more specifically, problems the medicine faces. We have the catastrophic situation with the procurement of drugs and medicines. Therefore, we are to consider this matter today and the Government is to take corresponding decisions. I would also inform you about these decisions.

I would ask media to stay with us until that moment. Let Liudmila Leontiivna tell the overall picture of social issues. And finally - I will inform you later about Naftogaz Ukrainy, after the speech by Liudmila Leontiivna.

YATSENYUK AP - Colleagues have you got questions to Liudmila Leontiivna? No. Thank you.

Once again I would like to highlight this very important and sensitive issue - social security. The situation with the budget is extremely challenging because this is the military budget, and actually we are in the conditions of martial law.

The State budget has lost again UAH 2 billion of revenues from Donbas and "there is a constant trend to a fall of tax payment": "The trend has a time lag. It means that in this month we have actually collected revenues for August. And as the situation has worsened in August, therefore, in the next month we expect deterioration in the volume of collected revenues from Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The situation on the territories controlled by Russian terrorists in Donetsk and Luhansk regions has a terrible effect on the economy as a whole. Everything is intertwined: “Ukrzaliznytsia" gets 40% of revenues from Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Blown up bridges and roads mean no revenues from traffic, and therefore, there are no payments to the budget, no payments for wages, no payments for electricity and, thus, it just kills the Ukrainian economy.

We as a Government are well aware of all the problems that people face: prices, tariffs, rate of exchange. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to manage the economy, when in our territory there are Russian tanks, terrorists as well as shooting. But we are managing, will continue to manage, and we will be able to cope with it.

Therefore, firstly, as to benefits and compensations. I urge Ukrainian citizens who are subject to obtaining benefits and subsidies, immediately apply to the Department of Social Protection so as to issue a state assistance. The State budget has allocated UAH 8.8 billion to the payment of benefits and compensations for the population. UAH 3.8 billion has been already used, so UAH 5 billion remains till the end of this year.

Secondly, we’ve reviewed the standards of natural gas and electricity consumption. What we had? Oblgazes write off 10 cubic meters of gas for the population, as if the population consumes it at the reduced price. We’ve conducted a study, by the way with our foreign partners, as to households and found out that the standard that was set almost 20 years ago has been almost twice as much. The actual gas consumption equals 6 cubic and this extra 4 cubic meters of gas, which wrote off for the population, were sold not to the public, but to the industry and other entities at a commercial price that is 10 times higher than the price for the population. Such a kind of business: wrote off for the population and sold to the industry and money went to the pockets.

Noting that we have revised the standards, I ask Liudmila Leontiivna and Olexander Vitaliiovych to check the decision to the third wave of compensations to the public. That is, we have a compensation, which has been introduced from July 1, a subsidy, which introduced from October 1, and the third option: either to index the cash income for the most needy, or offer another option of compensations due to a rise in prices and tariffs. We’ve got an additional resource. It is about UAH 2 billion. Please, check.

Now let’s talk about ATO participants. I ask the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, Security Service of Ukraine, Ministry of Interior Affaires, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, The State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection to speed up the submission of lists of participants in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO). We’ve created the Service, we’ve held the first meeting, but 152 people it is not good. Moreover, the guys who fought, and their families will be immediately entitled to receiving benefits and compensations.

As for prosthetics. Lyudmila, you and I were at a military hospital. Our enterprises can do first prosthetics, but I've heard skepticism from guys about the Ukrainian prostheses.

We’ve got 70 Ukrainian enterprises that manufacture prostheses: "I know that even Ukrainian Paralympic athletes use our prostheses.

Please, gather all the plants. I know that even Ukrainian Paralympic athletes use our prostheses. Just tell the truth about the Ukrainian prostheses: quality, whether they are suitable or not for whom they are suitable. Every guy who needs prosthesis, to send social services to him, medical devices, he may decide to: there are Ukrainian prosthesis that perhaps are okay for the first time, here are foreign prosthesis, which are required for special cases, and the state has to fund foreign prosthetics. So, today let's decide that we are funding both national and foreign prosthetic dentures, depending on the case and a medical opinion.

Regarding temporary displaced persons or migrants. Winter is at hand, almost 350 thousand people we have. Government's position is that we take the decision to impose the registration procedure of displaced persons or, as they say, migrants so that we know who and where, with whom and in what living conditions. Now temporarily displaced persons, who have the right for separate types of state aid, can already go and they go to welfare offices and that social assistance they’ve received, for example, in Donetsk or Lugansk, they receive in places where they stay. But we introduce the procedure of registration of citizens so that we clearly know who are and where stay and in what conditions resides.

The second. We resolve to provide state aid for the six-month period to these persons (temporarily displaced persons from Donbas - Ed.). Per each person, who is not able to earn, a monthly aid is UAH 884. For every working person - it is 50% of this amount. And note - in case if a person wants to receive the government assistance - he/she should come to the Employment Center and register in order to get a job. If one wants that the state helped him/her, they should look for a job and get it. Total payments for a family should not exceed UAH 2,400. I emphasize again - it is just in case, if a person is looking for a job and is willing to provide for one's family through going to work and earning.

The state cannot help a person, who is not looking for a job, because this person does not want to help himself/herself.

Thirdly - as for volume of funding. You realize that we have in these conditions some new costs every day. We have fewer and fewer revenues instead we have more and more costs. And so after that we will hold the registration process of temporarily displaced persons and assign payments (we already have an agreement with our Western donors), we obtain donor’s support. When they registered we began to pay - foreign donors will allow us to compensate the state budget expenditures for temporarily displaced persons.

As for payments and financial condition as a whole. I emphasize again that the financial and economic situation is extremely complicated. And I have several meetings with key global banks and global investors in New York.

The main condition, the first condition of investment to Ukraine – it is to stop the war, clearing Ukraine from Russian terrorists and tanks and a real implementation of the peace plan, which will enable to implement reform changes. And of course, we should have a new Parliament in order to implement reforms in the country, which will be ready to vote for the reform packages that are repeatedly send by the Government and do not receive support from members of the current Parliament. They do not offer a solution and cut government’s propositions.

Despite the extremely difficult situation, the world is watching very carefully for, they see how behaves Ukraine, the Government meets commitments both domestically debt obligations and the payment of external obligations.

I want to make clear is that the Government, despite the complexity of the financial and economic situation in a country responsible attitude towards the fulfillment of all obligations, including the repayment of debt.

Now is the maturity Eurobonds issued by "Naftogaz Ukraine" under the state guarantees totaling $ 1 billion 670 million. The Government and "Naftogaz" commenced the redemption of Eurobonds worth $ 1 billion 670 million. The total amount is paid off, and we the confidence of foreign investors and lenders is very important for us.

And the Government will fulfill all its internal and external obligations, despite the incredible complexity.

This inheritance has come to us. Already nobody asks who took debts. Now just ask who will give it. Therefore, we pay.

Now, regarding issue on medicines and on medicine. I have dozens of references on this subject. National State Service has conducted internal investigations. I will bring at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers a next offer - the Ministry of Health purchased only 25% of the total amount of medicines that the state had to buy. And there is almost the end of the year.

I’ve personally gave dozens of orders at Cabinet’s sessions at our meetings. But, as I see someone hears badly. So I suggest the following Government decision: to suspend Minister of Health from his duty, to withdraw First Deputy Minister Mr. Salyutin from his position.

Ministry of Health together with the Ministry of Finance in accordance with the law - 21 days to complete the procurement. I will not accept it.

Then I ask Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers to announce the final decision of the Government.