Petro Poroshenko: people need answers on how to live on
Petro Poroshenko called on the authorities to make quick decisions that will allow Ukrainians, businesses, schools and critical infrastructure to operate under 24-hour airstrikes and Russian attacks. He stressed that the country needs new rules of life in a new phase of the war.
Poroshenko stated this in a video address.
According to him, constant air raids and attacks by Shahed jets are already affecting not only frontline cities, but also Kyiv, Dnipro, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhia.
Poroshenko separately drew attention to the beginning of the new school year. According to him, on the eve of September 1, many parents still do not understand how children will study in schools without proper shelters and what to do if the air raid siren is sounded many times during the school day.
“These are no longer just the inconveniences of war. This is a situation that risks becoming uncontrollable,” he stressed.
Poroshenko believes that Russia is trying to exhaust Kyiv with constant anxiety and effectively stop normal life in the capital. Therefore, according to him, the government, military, city authorities, transport workers, and business should work together to develop clear rules for the city’s operation.
This includes, in particular, the operation of the metro, public transport, and bridges during emergencies, the movement of medical personnel and critical infrastructure workers, the operation of enterprises, and the delivery of food and medicine.
Poroshenko called the organization of education the second issue. He called on the authorities to define clear rules for schools, in particular those that do not have proper shelters, and to establish under what conditions children will study in person and under what conditions they will study remotely.
Poroshenko also called for the return of UAH 8 billion and personal income tax revenues to Kyiv. According to him, the capital needs these funds to equip shelters, protect schools, hospitals, and other facilities.
He emphasized that in conditions of prolonged airstrikes, the very approach to shelters needs to change.
“If people are forced to spend hours there, it can no longer be a damp basement with two benches. There must be light, water, and communication. A child must be able to study there. The hospital must continue to treat there. In fact, we need to build another level of the city – a protected one,” Poroshenko said.
He also named business support as a priority. Poroshenko called for introducing war risk insurance, ensuring entrepreneurs have access to funds for rapid recovery from Russian strikes, and creating new logistical solutions.
He also proposed creating a legal mechanism that would allow businesses to invest their own funds in protecting enterprises, including in private air defense systems where possible.
Separately, Poroshenko called on the Verkhovna Rada to return to full-fledged work, negotiate with the IMF, and adopt laws necessary for financial stability. At the same time, he proposed creating a joint working group to review relevant draft laws for corruption norms.
Poroshenko named the fifth key issue as preparing the energy sector for the cold weather. According to him, it is necessary to install flexible generation, cogeneration units, and backup power for hospitals, water utilities, and communication systems right now.
“Every district should know what it will do if there is simply no major energy supply for a day, two, three,” he noted.
Poroshenko also appealed to condominium associations, entrepreneurs, volunteers, and residents of high-rise buildings to check shelters, take care of backup power and water supplies, and help elderly people who cannot reach safe places on their own.
According to him, the state, for its part, could introduce credit programs for people, condominium associations, and entrepreneurs who independently invest in their own security.
Poroshenko emphasized that Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities now need not only calls for resilience, but a clear work plan in the face of constant Russian attacks.
“Resilience is when the state has organized life so that people can live even when the enemy does everything to prevent them from doing so. Therefore, today Kyiv needs not just another word about invincibility. Kyiv needs a clear plan for how to live,” he said.
In conclusion, Poroshenko declared the opposition’s readiness to cooperate with the government and local authorities to legislatively secure the necessary solutions. He also again advocated the creation of a coalition of National Salvation and a government of national unity.