Today, the country is living in an absolutely abnormal mode due to the Russian terror against civilians. Air raids follow one after another, cities are constantly halted, and people cannot normally get to work or return home for hours.
And the main question I hear today is: what should we do next? How to live in this? This question is not only from Sloviansk or Kramatorsk. It’s a question from Kyiv, Dnipro, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia.
Tomorrow is September 1st. Thousands of parents still do not understand how their children will study, especially where there are no proper shelters.
This is no longer just the inconvenience of war. It is a situation that risks becoming uncontrollable.
We have entered a new stage of the war, which has shown the depth of the crisis in state management in the country.
Let’s honestly say what Putin is doing. He is trying not only to strike Kyiv. He wants to shut down Kyiv. Exhaust with constant alarms. Paralyze transportation. Stop enterprises. Tear logistics apart. Eventually force people to say: it’s impossible to live here.
Because Kyiv for him is a special target.
Today, it’s not enough just to urge people to endure. We must finally organize the life of the capital according to the war that Russia is waging today, not the one we prepared for yesterday.
Firstly, the city cannot be endlessly halted. Safety is undoubtedly above all. But if alarms become constant, then the city’s working rules must change. The government, military, city authorities, transport workers, and businesses must sit down at one table and give people a clear algorithm. How will everything work in the future?
And the cost of this chaos should not be underestimated. When Kyiv stands for hours, a huge part of the Ukrainian economy stands. These are billions that will not reach the army from the budget.
Secondly, the start of the school year. Where is the clear solution for parents? Give people rules. Take responsibility. That is why the state exists.
Thirdly, return 8 billion and the military brigade’s income tax to Kyiv because this week Kyiv is forced to conduct a budget sequester for the first time. Cutting all expenses to protect the city. Today, Kyiv needs money for shelters. We need to build another level of the city — protected.
Fourthly, business. War risk insurance is needed. Money for quick recovery after strikes. New logistics. The ability for businesses to invest in their own protection, including private air defense systems.
And the parliament must finally work properly. Negotiations with the IMF need to be conducted, laws that affect the country’s financial stability need to be adopted.
Fifth, energy. Putin has already stated that his main target is energy, specifically the energy of Kyiv, whose protection has been left unfunded. Therefore, small maneuverable generation, cogeneration, backup power for hospitals, water utilities, and communication should be installed immediately.
When the state lags behind, Ukrainians have always saved themselves. This is our great strength. So I appeal to HOA, entrepreneurs, volunteers, just neighbors: check your shelters. Think about backup power. About water. About the elderly people in your building who have nowhere to go during an alarm and cannot cope on their own. Our team will definitely be there.
And I want to thank everyone who today does not let this city stop. Rescuers and firefighters. Medical workers, especially emergency services. Utility workers. Drivers. Energy workers. Entrepreneurs. People who, after another sleepless night, still open stores, pharmacies, businesses. Teachers.
Putin wants Kyiv to be tired.
We will definitely not give him this. But resilience is when the state organizes life so that people can live even when the enemy does everything to make them unable to. Kyiv needs a plan for how to live.
With these demands, we are going to the opening session of the Verkhovna Rada tomorrow. We are in opposition, but we are ready to cooperate with the authorities in legislative support of all necessary decisions, up to the creation of a coalition and a government of national unity. But the authorities need to act quickly and responsibly.
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The first bell today is interrupted by an air raid alert. The first lesson can start at a desk and continue in a shelter.
Behind are the tough preparations for school. It’s always a challenging task for moms and dads. But this year, preparations are against the backdrop of burned warehouses and factories. The first ABC books, which were supposed to be a special memory for young Ukrainians today, were forever lost after the destruction of the book market in Pochayna, warehouses of Ukrainian publishing houses, and bookstores.
The school year has begun, and parents across the country still do not understand how their children will study. Especially where there are no proper shelters. Face-to-face or online learning? What to do during alarms? What if they are constant? How can a teacher plan a semester’s curriculum if they do not know how many lessons they can conduct? How can a teacher take on the responsibility that the authorities are afraid to bear? And this is definitely not something that a school principal can decide with parents in a Viber chat in the evening.
The authorities must provide parents with clear, sensible decisions. Give people rules. Take responsibility. That’s what the state is for.
But despite all this, today children again go to school. Teachers open classrooms and prepare lessons again. Parents adjust backpacks and take their little ones to school in the morning. They will study in the new Ukrainian school. With a curriculum free of the “Russian world.” Thanks to the endurance of the parents, the daily hard work of teachers, and the heroism of our defenders.
Russia wants the war to become an everyday occurrence for Ukrainian children. We, on the other hand, are fighting for a different future. For children to worry about tests, to be late for lessons, to fall in love, to choose universities, and to make their plans without adjustments for war.
And it will be, it will definitely be.
Happy Knowledge Day!
