Regional Frontline Update & Meeting with Government

Meeting on the situation in the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions

Today’s meeting to update the situation in the three frontline border regions begins where the previous meeting ended: discussing the efforts to provide for the safety of the regions’s civilians. As you’ll read, Putin appointed First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov as his point-man to deal with those efforts:

Vladimir Putin: Dear colleagues, good afternoon!

I have gathered you to discuss the current situation in the border regions of Russia. We are also in touch with the heads of the Government, including Denis Manturov, whom I asked to personally deal with all socio-economic issues in these territories, and the heads of the regions: Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk region.

Let's start working. Denis Valentinovich, you have the floor, please.

Manturov: Thank you very much, Mr President.

I will start, if I may, first of all with Kursk, where there is an intensive rate of evacuation of residents. Today, 115 thousand people have been resettled from dangerous areas, temporary accommodation and food points have been deployed in 29 regions with a significant reserve of places.

To ensure its functioning, the Government has prepared decisions to allocate an additional 1.9 billion rubles for the Ministry of Emergency Situations for these purposes, and one-time payments to evacuated residents of the Kursk region continue in terms of the decision you made, regarding 10 thousand rubles. Funds are allocated regularly and promptly to replenish this item.

As for payments of 15 thousand rubles through the Ministry of Emergency Situations, funds began to flow into the accounts of citizens. This procedure takes a little longer. To speed up the processing of applications, and today there are already more than 100 thousand of them, employees of MFC of other regions are involved in the work remotely. This makes it possible to process more applications per hour.

Taking into account the amount of payments due, the Government has already pre-emptively prepared decisions on allocating another 713 million rubles for this purpose in addition to the previously reported ones, and 858 million rubles will be additionally allocated to provide citizens with assistance in connection with the loss of property.

In general, in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions, all issues are constantly monitored. Yesterday, we held a meeting with the heads of regions, and following its results, the relevant departments were given a number of instructions, in particular, to work out the issue of compensation for damage caused to agricultural and industrial enterprises.

Last year we already made such decisions in the Belgorod region, it was 1,700 million for industrial enterprises, and then we allocated 500 million for the recapitalization of the Industrial Development Fund. I consider it necessary (and we worked on this topic with the Ministry of Finance yesterday) to ensure payments, including for accumulated losses in these industries and industrial sectors – for manufacturing and agricultural enterprises.

In addition, the Belgorod region asks for help on special transport, we will definitely find an opportunity to ensure prompt delivery.

Of course, September 1 is approaching, and we pay special attention to the organization of the educational process. First of all, of course, this is in the Kursk region, this issue is under control of Dmitry Nikolaevich Chernyshenko, we regularly "check the clock"with him. Currently, the collection of information on the readiness of schools located outside the acute zone is being completed. Of course, some students will be transferred to the remote format. As for children who have left the region, they will be able to study at schools in their local area without any bureaucracy.

These are the main issues that the Government is currently facing, and as I have already said, we are in touch with our colleagues and are working on all the applications that we receive.

Thank you.

My colleagues will report on other issues and competencies.

Vladimir Putin: All right.

Now we will listen to the regional leaders, and then we will return to the members of the Government.

Alexey Borisovich Smirnov, please.

Smirnov: Good afternoon, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

The operational headquarters operates around the clock, and the KTO headquarters also operates. According to the decision of the operational headquarters, eight districts of the Kursk region with a population of 152,566 people fell into the resettlement and evacuation zone. As of today, 133,190 people have left. There are 19,376 people left. We continue to move people to safe places. People are placed in temporary accommodation centers and with relatives. In total, 524 temporary accommodation camps with a capacity of 64 thousand people were deployed, of which 20 thousand were deployed in Moscow, 25 thousand-in other regions. In total, they accommodate 12,257 people, including 3,407 children and 633 people with disabilities. Each of them has a psychologist. Free legal assistance is also provided.

3430 people were taken from the territory of the Kursk region to other regions. Three meals a day are provided, humanitarian aid comes from almost all regions of the country, and there are enough supplies of water, food, and basic necessities.

In medicine: 2,193 beds are available for adults, 425 – for children, a total of 2,618. The supply of medicines and blood is sufficient.

The 112 service is working around the clock. The number of requests received is 84,290, including evacuation, payments, search for relatives, damage, accommodation, and restoration of documents.

For the payment of one-time financial assistance to citizens of 10 thousand rubles each, 820 million rubles were received from the federal budget. For a one-time payment of 15 thousand rubles in connection with the introduction of a federal emergency regime, 600 million rubles were received from the federal budget. 41,106 people have already received the payment.

Together with the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation, a mechanism has been developed to review applications that were previously refused without submitting new applications. We will notify our citizens about this via phone calls and text messages. Additional people were brought in to process the submitted applications, including those from other regions. More than 400 employees are working on this task.

As for payments of 15 thousand rubles per person. Given that these are the same citizens who applied for financial assistance, in the amount of 10 thousand, I suggest making payments to them automatically. Assessing the damage caused to citizens is difficult. At the same time, we collect applications from the Department of Internal Affairs about vehicles that could not be removed from the resettled areas. Their registration is suspended.

Work continues on issuing resettlement certificates from the 5-kilometer border zone. 209 resettlement certificates were issued to 413 citizens. In addition, there are requests from residents to allow them (in addition to purchasing on the housing market) to send money under the certificate for the restoration of damaged housing or new construction with the preservation of ownership of the land plot: people do not want to leave.

We continue to work on determining the amount of damage to industrial enterprises and agricultural producers.

Decisions on the beginning of the school year have been prepared. Depending on the situation, it will be either distance learning in the areas that are being resettled, mixed, adjacent to them, or full-time. There is a complete set of textbooks and laptops.

We are preparing for the autumn-winter season, including in the territories where residents have been resettled. Taking into account that we have canceled the payment from consumers there since August 1, and at the same time it is impossible to allow freezing of heating systems, a decision was made to create a centralized regional emergency service.

All measures are complicated by the significantly increased number of air attacks that the Kursk region is currently undergoing. The situation is under control, interaction with all ministries and departments of the Russian regions is carried out around the clock.

I've finished my report and am ready to answer your questions.

Vladimir Putin: All right. This is what I wanted to ask you and other regional leaders: is contact with law enforcement agencies – the Ministry of Defense, Rosgvardiya, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations – really established and organized in such a constant online mode?

Alexander Smirnov: In the Kursk region, we have established a full round-the-clock contact.

Vladimir Putin: Good.

Now about your offer to pay people 15 thousand extra money in automatic mode. I totally agree, that's what we need to do.

Alexander Smirnov: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: And I ask my colleagues to take this into account. The same applies to maintaining ownership of land plots.

And I ask you, of course, to keep your finger on the pulse regarding the preparation for the school year.

All other issues of life support, of course, should be solved automatically, too. If you have any questions, please contact me immediately. But I'll call you back after the meeting, and we'll talk today.

Alexander Smirnov: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Please, Alexander Bogomaz.

Bogomaz [Governor of the Bryansk Region]: Good afternoon, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

We had a difficult situation yesterday, 23 attacks of unmanned aerial vehicles were carried out on the region, which were shot down, and there was no damage. Yesterday evening, the DRG tried to enter the territory of our country, breaking through the state border in the Klimovsky district. But the forces of the Border Guard Department of the FSB of Russia and the Ministry of Defense were repulsed, the enemy suffered a fire defeat. Yesterday, the situation at the site of the clash stabilized, and is currently under the control of the operational headquarters.

If we talk about the interaction of the entire security bloc-the government, the Ministry of Defense, the Border Department-then it is well established, everyone is in touch, and they are in touch 24 hours a day. And yesterday, when there was this situation, everyone immediately made decisions, made decisions on whether people should be resettled or not. And then, when everything was ready to move people out, but we didn't need it.

Also, within the framework of the powers of the operational headquarters, exercises on emergency evacuation of residents in case of such a need have already been held in six border areas. To do this, we have 12 camps ready to accommodate 1,580 residents, and if necessary, we can accommodate up to 32,000 people.

Currently, 536 people have arrived from the Kursk Region to the territory of the Bryansk region, including 148 children (49 of preschool age and 99 of school age). We have worked with all the families, they are located in different municipalities. The issue of providing places in kindergartens and schools has been resolved. 52 people, including 17 children, are placed in the PSC. We work with every family, and pay special attention to processing documents for receiving social benefits. To do this, employees of the Social Protection Fund and the Pension Fund go to each person who arrives, help to draw up all the necessary documents.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

In accordance with your instruction of October 8 last year on the formation of territorial defense in the Bryansk region, last year the territorial defense was formed, all the work was carried out. Major-General of the Airborne Forces leads the teroborona today. The unit is fully equipped and equipped with everything necessary. Together with Rosgvardiya, the issue of light and heavy weapons of the units was resolved. Currently, together with the Russian Guard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Bryansk Region, the units are equalizing tasks within their powers in six border areas. We carry out all measures to ensure territorial defense at the expense of the regional budget.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, I would like to ask you to consider funding these events from the federal budget. It was then in your order, and the Ministry of Finance refused us. Today we do all this at the expense of the regional budget. First, we could reduce the burden on the budget, which is, so to speak, poor, and expand the number of participants in territorial defense.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, I am ready to answer your questions.

Vladimir Putin: Do you have any other issues, apart from financing the territorial defense, which, of course, needs to be done (the Minister of Finance is in touch with us, we will discuss this later), other issues of a social nature, assistance to people in the Bryansk region and those who come to you, do you have any unresolved issues?

Alexey Bogomaz: Mr President, there are no such questions today. We pay people who have lost their property at the expense of the regional budget, and we resolve social issues with everyone, including those who came to us.

Vladimir Putin: Well, thank you.

Please, Vyacheslav Gladkov.

V. Gladkov [Governor of the Belgorod Region]: Good afternoon, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

You asked a question about the level of interaction with law enforcement agencies. I would like to report that cooperation has been established. Recently, thanks to the personal decisions of the Minister of Defense, relations with the Ministry of Defense have been changing for the better. I am sure that all this cooperation will lead to a change in the situation regarding the protection of the population.

In general, the situation continues to be difficult, primarily due to MLRS artillery barrages and attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles. Over the past week, 19 civilians were injured.

We continue to restore housing. Unfortunately, in the Belgorod region in the Shebekinsky district, in Shebekino, recovery is difficult, because every day there are three or five attacks on settlements, and there is a threat to construction workers, so now we are choosing the best recovery mechanism. Because we understand that autumn is ahead, and we need to restore it, but not at the expense of risking the lives of builders, so we are trying to debug this mechanism now. I am sure that we will reach an agreement with the people and not get any more problems. We understand that the people who were affected definitely deserve a lot of effort right now. We are working in this direction.

35 localities are currently closed. I am very grateful to you for the quick decisions that were made after my request to you at the previous meeting regarding the write-off of the mortgage on the destroyed housing. Denis Valentinovich, together with the Central Bank, worked for a day, and this mechanism is already starting to work.

There was also an equalization of payments, because we saw that there was a difference between payments in the Kursk Region and in the Belgorod region, which created social tension. This issue has now been resolved. In this regard, today we will send an application to the Government and the Ministry of Finance for the allocation of funds for payments of 15 thousand and 150 thousand for those localities that are closed, and where we have already started resettlement.

Currently, the preliminary damage to agricultural enterprises will be about 3 billion, but we will probably reduce all this at the end of October and send the application to the Government in the same way.

On business – about 1 billion rubles, but separately I would like to ask, if possible, to provide assistance in the amount of 300 million rubles to small and medium-sized businesses. We had such support thanks to your decision: three minimum wages for compensation for individual OKVEDam. Now we hold a lot of meetings, and the business suffers due to the fact that activities there are partially or completely stopped. We really don't want people to leave, so this support is very important to us. We will provide a separate justification.

Currently, there are 3 thousand people in temporary accommodation centers in the region, and 1 thousand people in temporary accommodation centers in five regions outside the region. Thanks to your decision, more than 6 thousand, or more precisely, 6171 children are outside in children's health camps.

Starting the school year, we will have distance learning in 113 schools. In the city of Belgorod and the Belgorod region, we worked with parents, each parent wrote an application: they had the right to choose whether they were in – person or remote. We decided that a parent can make any decision during the school year, depending on the situation: if they are worried, it means that they are at home, and if they are a little less worried, it means that they are full – time at school.

Therefore, we see that there is a risk in this again, in the fact that parents, thinking about the future of their children, based on the fact that distance learning, of course, is slightly inferior to full-time education, are beginning to think about moving to other regions. Therefore, we are now again planning a large number of activities without risking the lives of children, such as building shelters and increasing protection in the framework of anti-terror. We also put concrete shelters on playgrounds, sports grounds, and in front of the school entrance. Where there are no basements, we create zones that allow you to hide from splinters, a film on the windows that holds the fragments. And, of course, classes on first aid and behavior in difficult situations related to shelling. That is, we have such classes every day. Since the beginning of the year, we have already conducted about 15 thousand such classes. We will continue this work.

What a request in this part. We are very grateful to the Ministry of Digital Development-it helps with the restoration of mobile towers, but too often the enemy breaks them, and children who live in front-line municipalities have no Internet connection with the teacher.

So the only way out is in this part. We ask you to consider allocating additional money for laying optical fiber. There are such calculations, and we are ready to provide justifications.

We will count on the Government's help in understanding that the summer is over, sanatoriums and children's camps have been released, and we will ask children from the Shebekinsky district, Grayvoronsky, Krasnoyaruzhsky, Borisovsky, Valuysky districts to be sent by quarters to other regions where it is possible to safely and full-time receive education. In principle, we have direct contact with the heads of regions, but we will also request additional organization and cooperation through the Government.

We are preparing for the heating season. We understand that based on the operational situation, it can be quite difficult. Now the work has been fully completed to create a backup generation system for all the central district hospitals in the frontline areas, including nine municipalities, all Vodokanal's water disposal and water supply facilities. We spent about 300 million rubles of our own money.

We have allocated about 100 million rubles for the purchase of backup generation for all healthcare facilities throughout the region, but our energy supply company is preparing for a difficult winter. In this regard, we have quite large risks of losing heating in large localities, for example, in Belgorod.

In this regard, I know that separate sites are being formed at the level of the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation, where equipment is assembled, which in the event of major accidents in the whole country can be quickly delivered to emergency cities. As an option, for our regions – for the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions, maybe on the territory of Voronezh – to create first of all mobile boiler houses, additional backup generation, medium-and high-power generators, so that, depending on the situation, either in Kursk, Bryansk or Belgorod, it would be possible to provide prompt assistance we need help. That's all I wanted to say.

And I'm sorry. Alexander Bogomaz also said that with a request to support funding from the federal budget within the framework of your assignment, which was issued, I also support this proposal for self-defense. Our regiments are formed, we can withdraw a fairly large number of about six thousand people – these are two regiments that are already performing combat tasks throughout the border area, but we understand that we can ensure, for example, the maintenance of such a large number… They are now all performing this task absolutely free of charge. Now, based on the current situation, and yesterday we also worked out as part of the instructions of the Minister of Defense, we understand that without systematic support in terms of paying for our self-defense, we will not be able to cope on our own. Therefore, I support the Bryansk region.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Denis Valentinovich, in conclusion, I will also give you the floor on the issues that have just been raised by the Governor of the Belgorod region: financing of territorial defense, support for small and medium-sized businesses, fiber-optic communication, identification of children, those who rested in certain regions of the country, identification of children outside the territory of the Belgorod region during the educational process and preparation for heating the season. Just figure it all out. Then, of course, the Minister of Finance will also have to answer questions concerning him.

Now, just while you put it all together, I want to give the floor to Khusnullin Marat Shakirzyanovich. In the morning, we discussed issues related to the construction sector in the entire border zone. I will ask him to briefly report on the situation again, so that his colleagues can hear him.

Please, Marat Shakirzyanovich.

M. Khusnullin [Deputy Prime Minister]: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

At your direction, the Government, together with the regions, is working systematically to support citizens who have lost their homes as a result of the shelling. Issues related to providing housing, restoring infrastructure and preparing for the autumn-winter period are discussed almost daily at the working group on a special infrastructure project. We have full cooperation with the CTO headquarters, they take part with us together, so we make all decisions together with the governors and the CTO headquarters.

We consider all appeals that come from the governors on a daily basis. When possible, we promptly make decisions. The necessary funding was allocated at the request of the regions. We have created the necessary amount of construction resources, labor resources, and the necessary amount of equipment.

We have one of the directions – the restoration of housing, we are working here in two directions. The first is compensation for lost housing and major repairs.

I will focus on the Kursk region. 1.8 billion rubles were allocated for the purchase of housing in the Kursk region, and 205 families out of 300 planned families received payments. Yesterday, the Government allocated another 10.7 billion rubles, which will allow 1916 families to buy housing.

Also, the Kursk region has been allocated 300 million rubles for major repairs of housing to victims of shelling, which will allow paying 390 families. In total, we believe that 2,600 families will receive support.

Payments are provided based on applications made to citizens, and regions have organized work on accepting such applications. As additional applications from the regions are formed, the Government will promptly allocate the necessary funding.

The same work is being done in the Belgorod and Bryansk regions, and we are in constant contact with the governors.

We have also already started evaluating all the damaged social and road infrastructure, and we have agreed that we are currently making estimates and design estimates. If necessary, and as soon as possible, we will promptly start restoring this infrastructure, primarily road infrastructure. All this work has already been done, in general.

We are preparing for the heating season. In general, I must say that if you look at the training cycle, the Kursk region - by 76 percent, Bryansk-by 75, Belgorod-by 56. We have decided to create emergency repair teams, special services, and we are really looking at the issue of mobilizing the necessary portable boiler houses. We have such experience in working in new territories I think that we will also resolve these issues in the near future.

Everything happens in normal mode, there are no questions.

Thanks for attention.

Vladimir Putin: Good. Thank you.

Murashko Mikhail Albertovich, please, about medicine in all these areas.

Mikhail Murashko [Minister of Health]: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues,

There are eight localities in the Kursk region. First. We were sent to a mobile multi-specialty hospital on the first day.

Second. Additional teams of 321 people work. These are highly qualified specialists from the federal centers of Moscow and the region, and the FMBA, and the ambulance service has been strengthened. In total, there are now 187 teams, including those from other regions of the Russian Federation.

Fourth. All escape routes are organized, complete coordination. As the head of the All-Russian Disaster Medicine Service, I provided full communication and interaction with the FMBA, Rospotrebnadzor and Rosselkhoznadzor.

On the block of questions concerning volunteers, we ensured the involvement of our medical students, especially in the first days it was extremely necessary.

Accordingly, our universities are involved in the training of primary health care in the provision of medical care.

Seventh. Everything related to the necessary additional resources has been settled and reported to the Prime Minister. All instructions are given, everything is fully provided.

For the Belgorod region. Additionally, disaster medicine services are involved, and specialists are working. Also, evacuation routes are regulated, all teams with a total of 115 ambulances. The guys work with a high load, we support them in all possible ways, including ensuring security in the same way as in the Kursk region.

We are in full contact with the regional authorities.

Planned care in both the Kursk Region and the Belgorod Region has been re-routed to medical organizations where it is needed. There is an additional need for special transport for the Belgorod region, reported at the headquarters of Marat Shakirzyanovich, everything is supported. Therefore, the issue will also be resolved now.

In the Bryansk region, they went out, organized all evacuation routes, interaction if necessary. 96 ambulance medical teams are working. So far, there is no need to attract additional specialists there. According to your instructions, the disaster medicine system is built in such a way that it is practically in full combat readiness today. If necessary, we deploy and send medical specialists to the places where it is necessary. There is no loss of bed capacity in the Bryansk region, so assistance is provided as usual.

All medical care is provided to persons who were in the PSA, including medical care. I went out personally and saw how it all happens in practice. Therefore, everything is under full control, there are no additional questions.

Thank you for finishing the report.

Vladimir Putin: Well, thank you.

MOE, please, Kurenkov Alexander Vyacheslavovich.

A. Kurenkov [Minister of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters]: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

Dear colleagues!

More than 152 thousand people were eligible for evacuation from nine municipalities of the region, of which more than 114 thousand were evacuated. Most of the people left for relatives and friends.

In order to receive and accommodate citizens arriving from the border areas, an operational headquarters has been deployed to carry out evacuation measures, 98 buses and 118 railway trains have been planned, which will be used as necessary, depending on the operational situation.

In total, more than 10 thousand people are accommodated in 28 regions of the Russian Federation, of which more than 2,800 are children. Additionally, places for 44 thousand people have been prepared, and work continues to increase the TA reserve.

Comprehensive support is provided to the evacuated citizens, they are provided with the necessary medical and psychological assistance, as well as information support.

A multi-channel hotline phone is working around the clock, which received more than 11 thousand requests.

In addition, work is underway to address social issues of evacuated citizens, including those related to employment, as well as registration of children in kindergartens and schools.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry's task force continues to work in the region. Its tasks include coordinating the actions of the emergency response forces, organizing evacuation and life support activities for the population, as well as delivering and distributing humanitarian aid.

Through joint efforts, 2.5 thousand tons of various cargoes were delivered to the Kursk region. This is necessary for the life support of citizens and property, including from the warehouses of the state reserve: automobile equipment, power plants, water tanks and installations for its purification, as well as bottled water, food, baby food, personal hygiene products and medicines.

The total grouping of forces and means in the Kursk region is about 2 thousand people and almost 700 pieces of equipment. More than 850 people and 250 pieces of equipment are involved from the EMERCOM of Russia.

I would like to note that when providing assistance to the population, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, employees of the administration of the subject and municipalities, doctors and volunteers are regularly subjected to targeted terrorist acts by the armed formations of Ukraine. In this regard, constant cooperation with units of the Russian Ministry of Defense and Rosgvardiya has been organized to conduct humanitarian operations.

As part of the build-up of the grouping of forces and assets, additional forces of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, including a consolidated pyrotechnic detachment, have been deployed to the Kursk region. To date, the territory with a total area of more than 10 hectares has been cleared of explosive objects.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry's radiation, chemical and biological protection units have stepped up monitoring of the radiation situation in the Kursk, Belgorod, Rostov, Zaporizhia regions and the Republic of Crimea. In the event of a situation complication, the necessary reserve of forces and means of the Russian Emergencies Ministry is ready.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

In accordance with the decision of the government commission, the situation on the territory of the Kursk and Belgorod regions is classified as a federal emergency and the federal level of response is established.

To date, over 120 thousand applications have been submitted by citizens in the Kursk region. We are talking about a one-time financial assistance in the amount of 15 thousand rubles, which has already been provided to more than 11,380 people. At the same time, in order to relieve the affected subjects, some of the applications of residents of the Kursk region are transferred for processing to other subjects. I would like to mention Oleg Kozhemyako, because he, Primorsky Krai, helps directly and electronically. The division has been increased by 97 people, and now we will increase the speed of working with citizens.

Payments in connection with the loss of property are temporarily not made, as the operational situation does not allow the commissions to assess the damage. After its stabilization, this work will be organized immediately.

In addition, in accordance with your decision, the Kursk Region received 820 million rubles for the payment of one-time assistance to evacuees. This payment is made by the subject, assistance was provided to more than 40 thousand citizens.

In the Belgorod region, payments are also made to citizens who suffered as a result of shelling by the armed formations of Ukraine. More than 18 thousand citizens have already received assistance for a total amount of more than 350 million rubles.

A corresponding grant has been allocated to the budget of the Belgorod Region from the reserve fund of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, the situation is under special control, and we are continuing our work.

I finished my report.

Vladimir Putin: Good. Thank you.

Anton Siluanov, please.

Alexander [Minister of Finance]: Thank you, Mr President.

By money. I report that funds to support the regions are allocated as a matter of priority. This week, the Government decided that the allocated funds that have not yet been disbursed can be quickly reallocated to those tasks that arise based on the current situation.

Based on the proposals that were made today.

Theroborona. It seems that it is necessary to determine the functionality of employees of territorial defense together with law enforcement agencies. Based on this, determine the needs for equipment and the remuneration system. We will resolve this issue after we decide on the functionality of our power unit.

Optical fiber. We are ready to work with mobile operators to determine the regions and municipalities where this should be done. The issue will also be resolved.

To support SMEs. We have already provided such assistance in Belgorod – we paid such support in the amount of the minimum wage, based on a three-month period. We will continue to provide this assistance.

I would also like to report, Mr Putin, that the Government has already taken a decision on tax deferral in the border regions in Belgorod. This week, the Prime Minister instructed to make a similar decision in Kursk. This week we will make all the necessary decisions on the Kursk region. Therefore, support is provided.

The issues that were discussed today will also be worked out and provided with funding.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Good. Thank you.

Denis Valentinovich, please.

Dmitry Manturov: Mr Putin, taking into account what Anton Germanovich has just commented on small and medium-sized enterprises, optical fiber and territorial defense units, I will take control and we will definitely find a solution.

As for the request of Alexey Borisovich regarding the received housing certificates, so that the ownership of the land plot is preserved. Today, according to the rules, this goes to the municipality. We will work out the legal component of this issue, taking into account the fact that you have agreed, find the best solution and adopt such a regulatory act.

But as for determining children to study in other regions, we will certainly work out everything, and I have already said that Dmitry Nikolaevich Chernyshenko and I are in contact and will optimally provide comfortable education for children either in the regions where they will move, or, as colleagues have just suggested, separately in the following areas: send quarters to study in the sanatoriums and children's camps that are being released. We will definitely work it out.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, all this needs to be done: to help small and medium-sized businesses, of course, to establish cellular communications, and where necessary, to help stretch optical fiber, to identify children in safe places for studying for a certain time. To help prepare for the heating season, of course, and provide appropriate funding.

As for financial support for the activities of territorial defense units. This morning I spoke with the heads of federal law enforcement agencies – they have such an order, I ask them to do it together immediately. Immediately.

I will ask Maxim Stanislavovich to arrange all this – what we discussed today – in the form of instructions.

M. Oreshkin : Let's do it.

Vladimir Putin: And the execution should be set up just right now. Agreed.

I have one more question for Alexey Borisovich Smirnov. How is the situation at the Kursk nuclear power plant?

Alexander Smirnov: The situation is stable and under control. Sergey Vladilenovich arrived, and together with him and the Rosatom management we held a meeting there. Everything is working normally.

Vladimir Putin: Good.

The enemy tried to strike at the nuclear power plant last night. The International Atomic Energy Agency has been informed, and they promise to come and send experts to assess the situation. I hope that in the end it will be done on their part.

I repeat once again: I ask you to prepare the relevant instructions right now and start executing them immediately. We will be in constant and prompt contact with you to maintain relations and, if necessary, promptly respond to all issues that arise now, of course, primarily in the social sphere, in order to effectively help people who, of course, need this help from our side.

As for security issues, these are problems that lie in the area of responsibility of law enforcement agencies. This is a separate topic. I hope that, as reported today, cooperation between local and regional authorities, the Government, and law enforcement agencies has been established, and this will also play a positive role in achieving the goals that we have here. I won't repeat them, they are absolutely obvious.

Thank you all. We will stay in touch. As I said, we will get in touch with Alexey Borisovich right now and talk to him in addition.

Take care! [My Emphasis]

It’s sad to learn how effective Russia’s government is this manner. I can’t help but recall how the USG responded to Hurricane Katrina. Furthermore, the vast amounts of aid and their swiftness is rather awesome given what we’re accustomed to here within the Empire. For example, private insurance gives itself an out—an excuse not to deliver—in the case of war or “act of god”; yet here we see Russian government at all levels providing that insurance and so much more as assistance comes from all over Russia, Primorsky Krai was mentioned which borders the Pacific Ocean. And Putin is the Top Dog in this operation, although he has very good people to delegate tasks who make W. Bush and “Brownie” look like the rank amateurs they were.

To make this very long read a bit shorter, the parts of the government meeting devoted to opening new facilities are omitted and just the other reports and their discussion will be provided: the progress of social gasification and the main issue of measures to support individual housing construction:

Putin: So, let's go ahead with our plan. Thank you, colleagues, for participating in our work today.

Please, Alexander Valentinovich, about social gasification.

Alexander Novak: Thank you.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

In accordance with your instructions, a single gasification operator – Gazprom – together with regional operators and regional authorities is carrying out large-scale work on social gasification of households, medical and educational institutions, as well as horticultural associations.

The Government's Coordination Center has launched a special project "Social Gasification", which provides monitoring of the implementation of schedule plans, deadlines, connection costs, support measures, as well as monitoring the price of gas-using equipment for each region. We systematically hold gasification headquarter meetings with the participation of regional heads who head their regional headquarters.

At the moment, 1 million 280 thousand contracts have been concluded, of which more than 1 million 33 thousand have been executed up to the site boundaries. The total percentage of execution is 81 percent, compared to 71 percent a year ago, which means that we are increasing the percentage of contract execution. By the end of the year, we expect the fulfillment of approximately 170 thousand applications and the supply of gas-using infrastructure to households.

Additionally, in the immediate vicinity of the land plots, a gas pipeline infrastructure has been laid in advance, which allows gasification of another 160 thousand households in a short time, if there is a corresponding application. In other words, additional opportunities for pre-gasification have actually been created, the so-called reserve.

Gazprom has allocated more than 290 billion rubles over 3 years to finance social gasification. Contracts have been signed, of which approximately 180 billion rubles have already been spent.

There is also a system for submitting applications for pre-gasification through various tools, through the portal of a single gasification operator, websites and offices of gas distribution organizations, a single portal of public services, as well as a multifunctional center for providing public services. I would like to note that the most popular way to submit applications today is through the portal of the unified gas supply operator, and the second place is occupied by websites and offices of the GRO.

As for gasification of medical and educational institutions, 1,374 applications for connection to gas distribution networks have been received so far, 410 contracts have already been executed, including 245 medical institutions and 165 educational institutions. They are supplied with gas.

Legislation is also being improved in order to reduce the time and cost of construction. This is also the third year that we have been conducting a survey on the public services portal of citizens who have applied for social gasification and connection to the program. We regularly analyze the information we receive based on feedback and bring it to the heads of regional headquarters in order to improve the work on pre-gasification and solve emerging problems or current situations.

Work is also underway to reduce delays in the execution of contracts. Since 2022, we have reduced the share of overdue contracts by three times, and today it is minimal – only one percent.

Also, as part of the headquarters, we are closely monitoring the dynamics of gas-using equipment, as you have noticed, Vladimir Vladimirovich. Compared to last year, monitoring shows that prices are growing no higher than inflation, by about 5 percent.

We keep a rating of regions for pre-gasification work. The rating is based on 15 indicators, such as the absence of delays in the execution of contracts, the availability of social support measures, and the provision of a comprehensive service. I would like to name the leaders of the rating: the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, the Nenets Autonomous District, the Moscow Region, the Republic of Chechnya, the Orenburg Region, and the Tambov Region.

The regions also provide support for the purchase and installation of gas-using equipment and for work within the boundaries of the site. Today, more than 30 categories in all regions of the Russian Federation receive support measures. The regions have allocated 7.4 billion rubles for support this year.

Also, Mr President, in accordance with your instructions, 13 categories of citizens have been identified to receive support, including through co-financing from the federal budget. For these categories, the minimum subsidy for the purchase of equipment and installation, as well as for carrying out work inside the site, is 100 thousand rubles. Last year, 961 million rubles were allocated from the Reserve Fund, and this year 1 billion rubles were allocated to 57 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, including new regions. Over the past period, assistance has been provided to more than 70 thousand citizens.

As part of your Address to the Federal Assembly, you also gave instructions to extend pre-gasification measures to garden associations located within the borders of gasified localities. All the necessary changes to the regulations were adopted as soon as possible, and the regional authorities promptly carried out an inventory.

To date, about 900 thousand households fall under gasification, this is about 10 thousand SNTS. On your instructions, the regions form and approve schedule plans, and according to available information, the schedule plans have already been approved in 32 regions. In the near future, they will be completed by September 1.

25 thousand applications for pre-gasification of households have already been submitted to the SNT, of which more than 15 thousand applications have been accepted and 6400 contracts have been concluded, and 1190 have already been executed up to the boundaries of households. The algorithm for pre-gasification of SNTS has been brought to the attention of regional authorities, and interaction between gardeners and regional authorities has been established.

The Ministry of Energy, Rosreestr, and the Russian Horticultural Union provide information support to regional authorities. Support measures in the form of subsidies, which I mentioned, 100 thousand rubles, also apply to privileged categories of citizens who live in the SNT.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

The work is currently being carried out regularly and systematically together with Gazprom and the regions. The progress of work is under my personal control, and the task that you set in the framework of the decree, the Message, on connecting 1 million 600 thousand households to gas by 2030, will be achieved.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: You said that this year we have provided 7.4 billion rubles for compensations to citizens related to the work on connecting to the gas networks. How much money has already been spent this year?

Alexander Novak: Mr President, 7.4 billion rubles are provided for in the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and we will also co-finance an additional 1 billion rubles from the federal budget for 57 regions that are subsidized. Of the 7.4 billion rubles that the regions have, about 2.5 billion rubles have been spent so far. We plan that by the end of the year, these funds will usually be selected in full – both regional and federal funds will also be selected in full. Even this year, this 1 billion rubles will be spent more rapidly. The regions apply to either redistribute or allocate additional money.

Vladimir Putin: Look, there are currently $ 7.4 billion allocated, and $ 2.5 billion spent (I didn't ask this by accident). We already have August coming to an end, and in the last few days, as is often the case, development is underway at any cost. Rhythmically, you need to adjust the work. Yes, I understand, I know: a billion from the federal budget, 7.4 billion from various sources. I'm just asking you to keep it under control, okay?

Alexander Novak: Yes, we will definitely check that the funds are disbursed.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

Please, Irek Fayzullin, individual housing construction.

I. Fayzullin: Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich.

Dear colleagues, 2023 has indeed become a landmark year for the construction industry, with housing commissioning exceeding 110 million square meters, and more than half of them, or 59 million square meters, are individual residential buildings.

431 thousand houses were commissioned, and the trend towards an increase in the volume of residential housing remains. The annual increase confirms the interest of citizens. Since the beginning of this year, 43.6 million individual housing units, or 314,000 individual homes, have already been commissioned. This is 23 percent more than last year.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, in accordance with your instructions, we have worked out together with the State Duma, the Federation Council, and the expert community the law on the use of escrow accounts in the construction of individual residential buildings. The law turned out to be somewhat more complicated than we expected.

Simultaneously with its development, changes were made to five existing laws: the Tax and Urban Planning Codes, the law on maternity capital, on deposit insurance, and on real estate registration. It affects various sectors of the economy and economic entities. There are both small and medium-sized businesses, large developers, manufacturers of home kits and building materials. Therefore, it was necessary to find a balance between all participants and ensure that the main condition is the observance of the rights of citizens who want to live in their own home. Of course, this was due to the intensive work of the Government together with the Central Bank, and here I would like to thank Elvira Sakhipzadovna.

We did a lot of work together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia and formulated the concept of "domokomplekt"[house kit]. It also provides for the construction of private escrow houses made of wood, foam blocks, and aerated concrete. As a result, the law takes into account the interests of both citizens and businesses.

Situations are excluded when people who gave money for the construction of residential housing, could be left with unfinished houses or an object for which it is impossible to register rights. At the same time, this law does not limit the possibility of building residential housing in other ways.

According to expert estimates, approximately 3,000 additional homes will be built using escrow accounts in 2025, and 52,000 homes on 7 million square meters are already planned for 2026. The key task is to make buying and building your own home as easy and straightforward as buying an apartment.

Additionally, the " DOM.Russian Federation " approved a pilot program to subsidize loans provided by a contractor for the construction of individual homes using escrow. The interest rate for developers will be subsidized up to 1 percent per annum, the six largest banks currently work together with DOM.Russian Federation in this direction. Due to concessional lending, the availability of contractor services will increase, which will ensure the protection of citizens in the construction of individual housing. In total, we expect to build 1 million square meters under this program in the coming year.

The main measures for the development of residential housing are combined within the framework of the Government's "My Private Home" initiative. Together with Rosreestr, it is possible to register rights to residential housing within three days from the moment of submitting the application.

One of the most important decisions was to extend all existing preferential mortgage programs to the individual housing construction segment. And this demand persists and is actively growing. We see that for 7 months of 2024, the share of loans for the purchase and creation of residential housing amounted to almost 18 percent of the total volume of mortgage lending.

In accordance with your decision, the Family Mortgage program has been extended with the possibility to get a preferential loan for building a house using escrow accounts.

Urban planning training is also being carried out in the regions as part of this initiative. As of July 1, 2024, 19 thousand hectares have already been prepared, which makes it possible to build 58 million square meters, or 427 thousand individual houses. In total, by 2030, we plan 75 thousand hectares of land plots, which will allow [to build] 225 million square meters of individual housing, or 1 million 654 thousand houses.

Your decision, Mr Putin, on social gasification, as Alexander Valentinovich has just reported, was an important step in stimulating the commissioning of residential housing. Due to the fact that gas and other infrastructure is being supplied to the land plots, citizens began to build, complete and introduce houses that had already been started earlier.

An important role was played by the launch of the super-service "Digital Construction". It allows you to go all the way from choosing a land plot to processing documents and putting the object into operation. As of August 22, 2024, 3,220 residential building projects from more than 2.5 thousand contractors have already been placed in this system. Of these, 385 projects can be built using escrow accounts. It is also possible to use standard projects, which not only simplifies and speeds up construction, but is also more profitable than building from scratch.

At the same time, we continue to actively work on expanding the possibility of infrastructure development in residential housing projects using integrated territorial development mechanisms. Six regions are already implementing 13 projects for 2.5 million square meters using this mechanism.

Also, within the framework of the new national project "Infrastructure for Life" being developed, a separate event is being worked out aimed at creating the necessary infrastructure for residential housing, including on land plots that are provided to large families.

This measure will increase the availability of individual housing for citizens by reducing the cost of providing land plots with the necessary infrastructure, as well as increase the efficiency of the mechanism for providing large families with land, as well as increase the volume of construction.

The report is finished. Thanks for attention.

Vladimir Putin: Well, thank you. Elvira Sakhipzadovna, can you add something?

E. Nabiullina: Yes, thank you very much.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!

Escrow accounts have paid off in housing construction. You remember how we introduced this tool to solve the problem of defrauded real estate investors, and extending escrow accounts to individual housing construction is also a very important step.

The Bank of Russia participated in the preparation of the law that Irek Envarovich just mentioned. This law will also help improve the quality of construction itself, set clear rules for construction contractors, and, most importantly, protect people's funds and allow more families to improve their living conditions.

What are the main advantages of this mechanism? For people, they consist in the fact that they do not need to provide additional collateral for a loan, as is happening now with self-construction. In other words, more people will be able to get such loans.

Secondly, construction risks are now borne by the banks themselves, and people's funds are protected for the duration of construction, until its completion, the money is in secure escrow accounts insured by the state. By the way, the amount of insurance coverage for such funds now amounts to 10 million rubles, but taking into account the price dynamics, we propose to increase this amount to 30 million.

We discussed this with the DIA and the Ministry of Finance. In general, they support the idea. And if everyone is generally supported, we will work out the introduction of appropriate legislative changes in the near future.

We also support the extension of state support, in particular the family mortgage program, to loans for individual housing construction with escrow. Because these programs are not support for builders, but support for certain categories of people, and it doesn't matter how they improve housing construction – apartment buildings or individual housing construction. Therefore, in our opinion, this is very correct, it will increase the availability of such loans while tight monetary conditions remain.

In our opinion, this is also an advantage for contractors, because it is a guaranteed payment for services if they have fulfilled all the requirements of the contract. Of course, they will have to borrow money from banks until the house is delivered, but the rate on such a loan should be lower than the market rate, and we can see this in project financing in mortgages with escrow accounts for apartment buildings, because this loan is financed from the funds of a person in an escrow account on which there is no interest. In other words, the rate will reflect only the contractor's credit risk, without taking into account the cost to the bank or the cost of raising funds.

There are also advantages for banks: the scope of lending is expanding, and, secondly, when the contractor is a clear, transparent company with experience that will build houses in compliance with all the necessary standards, collateral will become more liquid. And we know that there are problems with mortgages, if this is individual housing construction, how to evaluate them, these individual houses. Therefore, what the Minister of Construction said about standard houses is also very important, it will allow making collateral more liquid. And this will also reduce credit risks and potentially reduce loan rates for people.

I want to say that banks are technically ready to lend to both contractors and people under the new rules. But, probably, the only thing to say about this is that at the first stage there may be difficulties with obtaining such loans by small contractors who worked "in earnest", and it will be difficult for them to assess their financial situation. But in fact, this is probably a good thing, because the law will contribute to additional whitewashing of the entire construction sector.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Okay, thank you very much.

Mikhail Vladimirovich, do you support the Central Bank's proposal?

M. Mishustin: Yes, this is reasonable.

Vladimir Putin: Excellent, good. This is a very important area of work in the housing sector, after all, own housing is something that many families strive for, and everything should be done to ensure that the tools developed in other areas of housing construction are actively used here and give the expected result.

Thank you all very much. Let's mark what we just said and make a note of it for execution. [My Emphasis]

The terse reminder to Mr. Novak that he closely watch expenditures is likely prompted by the revelation of gross systemic fraud within the logistical portion of the Defense Ministry. The gasification program is one that should have been started long ago during Soviet times, but it was too easy to continue to reply upon coal and the old method of block heating. But with all the new construction, that rather inefficient method will finally be ended. On the cited housing stats, I’ve gone over the translation and can’t resolve this contradiction: “43.6 million individual housing units, or 314,000 individual homes, have already been commissioned,” versus Russia’s 150 million population. It might be 43.6 million cubic meters of housing as that’s often the metric used. Further context suggests that’s the case. The new banking and escrow arrangements will further facilitate housing construction. Russia will need to learn how to regulate its real estate sector so it doesn’t become dysfunctional like those in Western nations. The same goes for the tax regime: How is that going to work to avoid the Western system’s problems? I also suspect Russia will need to enact legislation dealing with the acquisition of new lands when Ukraine dissolves.

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