Kharkiv Mayor and Head of the Association of Frontline Cities and Communities of Ukraine Ihor Terekhov has outlined initiatives for the draft state budget, emphasizing priority funding for frontline territories and measures to increase the population’s income.
"There will definitely be initiatives. We are already preparing our proposals, because this is a very important issue for us. Primarily because we need to ensure priority funding for frontline territories," Terekhov said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, answering a question about the budget Declaration for 2027-2029 submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers and whether his association will submit its proposals to the draft budget.
He noted that today frontline cities and communities require special attention from the state, and that the government, thanks to a common position with partners in the AFCC, is paying more attention to their needs.
"In particular, we saw the appearance of the first support package for frontline territories, which, although it was reactive and aimed at solving specific issues, had a positive effect. Now work is underway on the second package of decisions, to which the Association has also submitted its proposals and hopes they will be taken into account because they are comprehensive and long-term. This is, first of all, support for frontline enterprises, ensuring personnel stability, recovery programs, war risk insurance, and support for communities that are under constant shelling. We want the state budget to include appropriate funding for these highly necessary initiatives," he said.
At the same time, Terekhov stressed the need to increase public income. "Look at what kind of target the budget declaration for 2027-2029 provides? Imagine when today the government says that in 2029 our minimum pension will be $66 and the minimum wage $220. Tell me, please, how will people live, how will they exist when they need food, they need to pay for utilities, they need to educate their children, they need medicine, and maybe buy some things? How is it possible to live on these funds? That is, today the income level needs to be increased. At the same time, make sure that the income level grows faster than price increases. Because otherwise we will never overcome poverty," he said.
Thus, according to him, completely different approaches to the formation of budget policy are needed. "Actually, our legislative initiatives and proposals to the state budget will be aimed precisely at solving these problems," Terekhov said.
The Kharkiv mayor noted that the budget must be balanced, and it is necessary that it has enough funds for the army, the defense industry, and war risk insurance in frontline territories, but also for compensating the difference in tariffs, "because this directly affects the well-being of the population, the ability of Ukrainian families to pay for housing and utility services." "It is no secret that the population has become very poor. Yes, there are objective reasons for this – the war, the slow pace of economic recovery, but when it is impossible to live on a pension, this is a very big problem. And so far it remains without a solution," he said.
Terekhov emphasized the importance of creating jobs, in particular, "for people who are currently fighting and defending our land, so that they return and know that they will not be receiving $220 a month in 2029, but will receive decent funds."
