The government has approved – and suggests that parliament support – the amendments to the state budget to allocate an additional more than UAH 500 billion for defence. All funds will be used to provide financial support to the military, to support the defence sector, and to purchase defence equipment, including drones. We will do everything possible and impossible to strengthen our soldiers, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his address.
"Today we also discussed humanitarian demining - something that is vital, literally. As of now, more than 170,000 sq km of our territory remain dangerous due to enemy mines and unexploded ordnance. A significant part of this territory is the land of our farmers, the land that used to be cultivated. Therefore, today we discussed how to intensify this work: to speed up humanitarian demining, to increase relevant cooperation with partners," the president noted.
He added that the second sowing season during the full-scale war has begun. "Last year, the heroic efforts of our farmers and all workers in the agricultural sector made it possible to preserve Ukrainian agricultural production - Ukraine's global role as a guarantor of food security."
"We discussed the situation in the energy sector separately – it has been normalized. In fact, we are meeting the energy needs of Ukrainians throughout the entire free territory of the state – in accordance with the generation capabilities. And we continue to prepare for the next heating season – this applies to both the accumulation of resources and the new protection of our energy facilities," Zelenskyy said.
He expects the coming weeks to be active in terms of international communication.
"We are also working to add new sanctions against Russia. Canada has recently taken a significant step by expanding sanctions on imports of Russian aluminum and steel. I thank Canada for this decision – for this signal to the international community. We must not only limit the ability of a terrorist state to circumvent existing sanctions, but also impose new ones to prevent Russia from adapting to global pressure. The lesser Russia's ability to adapt to sanctions, the faster we will be able to restore the territorial integrity of our state and return peace to Ukraine," the president added.
Zelenskyy emphasized that only our defenders are an effective guarantee of protecting the freedom of Ukraine, the whole of Europe and the free world.
"Today, I would like to pay special tribute to the soldiers of the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade for their successful actions in the area of Bakhmut," he said.