Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that he held a meeting with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister to outline the budget for next year, stressing that defense and security are top priorities and significant funds will be allocated to the military industry, especially the military industry . for the manufacture of drones. Support for veterans, education, digitalization will receive additional funds. Zelensky also announced a “substantial indexation” of pensions in March, along with an increase in the minimum wage in the middle of next year.

On the day that Ukraine carried out a spectacular attack in Russian-occupied Crimea, hitting a shipyard in Sevastopol and damaging a submarine and an amphibious assault ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, President Zelenskyy told compatriots in his late video address. , that it was an important day and that he had a military cabinet meeting where “there were details that cannot be discussed now, but which will be very effective in the war,” News.ro reported.

Zelenskyi also said that he had a meeting with Prime Minister Denys Shmigal and Finance Minister Marchenko to discuss the budget for next year.

“I outlined the main parameters that should be prioritized in the state budget,” Zelenskyi said.

“The main thing is to protect our country and people. Defense and security is a priority direction, and defense and security funding will be no less than this year’s level, that is, one trillion six hundred billion hryvnias. At the very least!”, Zelenskyi said.

He noted that next year significant budget funds will be added for the defense industry, especially for the production of weapons in Ukraine and for drones, both for the purchase of what is needed abroad and for Ukrainian production.

In addition, almost UAH 100 billion will be allocated to the production of weapons, for which the Ministry of Strategy and Industry is responsible, and to the Ukrainian drone army, “which shows very good, impressive results”

A separate priority of the budget is the support of veterans, as well as social expenses, for which UAH 469 billion will be allocated. .

There will be additional funds for the health care system – at least UAH 24 billion in addition to this year’s expenditures.

There will also be a plus for the education system, primarily for the support of teachers and lecturers.

Zelenskyi promised that the necessary funds will also be allocated for digitization, including for the “Dream” program – a new distance learning tool for children, parents and teachers, which will be fully operational next year and available to Ukrainians from all over the world.

“Of course, there will be significant indexation of pensions – we plan to do it in March, as provided by law. (…) I instructed the Prime Minister to prepare the basis for raising the minimum wage in Ukraine in the first half of next year,” Zelenskyi also said, taking into account that elections are to be held in Ukraine next year.

“But in addition to all this, we make a very important economic emphasis in the budget. We add incentives for the economy – production, jobs, investments. Government officials will tell the details of these incentives. These are the connection of investors to power grids, the continuation of grant programs, mortgage programs, and the development of Ukrainian industrial parks,” Zelenskyi said.

“Absolutely all elements of government activity must be launched so that we can determine when this war will end here in Ukraine. This will be our victory. Our weapon, which will allow us to achieve all the necessary goals for Ukraine. Our economy, which will be able to provide Ukrainians with the necessary jobs. Social functions of the state that must be performed. State functionality, especially digital, which should become more modern than anywhere else in Europe. All these are our tools to bring Ukraine closer to victory,” Zelenskyi said.

He also informed that during the day he had a meeting regarding the integration of the country into the European Union and NATO. Another meeting concerned the preparation of negotiations with various partners: from the Big Seven, from the Global South.

“All this will happen,” Zelensky assured before thanking the Ukrainian military and especially the pilots at the end of his speech. Many of them are studying abroad to learn how to fly the F-16 aircraft promised by Ukrainian partners.

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