Kyiv, Ukraine
Transcript
AMBASSADOR BRIDGET BRINK: Hi everyone. Thanks so much for joining us here today. I'm really thrilled to host Administrator [Samantha] Power for her third visit to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion. I want to thank the Minister of Education [Oksen Lisovyi] and the Principal [Liudmila Shevchuk] here for hosting us because we just had a chance to see the future of Ukraine – the first class of students – in order to give some 3.2 million textbooks over to Ukrainian youth. We are committed to the future and the future of Ukraine is bright.
USAID has been a staunch supporter and vital provider of assistance in response to Russia's full-scale invasion, from humanitarian support to frontline communities, protection of energy infrastructure, increasing exports and supporting farmers, enabling digitization and other steps that are improving government efficiency, putting money back into state budgets and supporting Ukraine's frontline defenders.
I'm so proud and thrilled to welcome one of Ukraine's biggest supporters in Washington and a leader in our efforts to make sure that Ukraine wins against Russia's brutal war.
Thanks so much. Administrator Power, welcome back.
ADMINISTRATOR SAMANTHA POWER: Hello everybody. It is a great privilege to be back in Ukraine on this, my third trip since Russia's full-scale invasion. I want to start by thanking our extraordinary Ambassador here, Ambassador Brink. Could not imagine a better representative of the American people and our commitment to freedom and independence for Ukraine. Bridget, just thank you and the team for leading so well every day on behalf of the values and the interests that we all hold dear.
I also want to thank Minister Lisovyi for keeping kids learning and keeping Ukraine's education system resilient. It was really important, I think, for us to hear directly from him about the vision Ukraine has, not only for keeping kids safe in school, but also a broad education reform vision that is being pursued even in wartime. I'd like to thank the Principal, Liudmila Shevchuk, thank you for hosting us today. Your strength on behalf of your students, your determination for them to experience joy and discovery – even in wartime – is something I will carry with me back to the United States. So, thank you. You and the teachers here, and the administrators here, are an inspiration – thank you. This school is teaching Ukraine's future.
The teachers and the students together show the Ukrainian determination to learn, to grow, to thrive, no matter what Putin and his forces throw at this country. Putin has targeted educational infrastructure. Russian attacks have damaged more than 1,600 schools. 201 schools have been completely destroyed, reduced to rubble.
The United States believes that all around the world, history is going to be written, not by those who burn, but by those who build. And that is what is represented here in a school. Education is the foundational building block for Ukraine's democratic and independent future. The textbooks that we delivered today – see them here – are just a small portion of the 3.2 million textbooks that USAID has helped print and now will distribute to more than 12,000 elementary schools across Ukraine.
These textbooks cover science, social studies, art and even foreign languages. They were supposed to be reprinted around the time that Putin launched the full-scale invasion, but as Ukraine’s resources have been spread thin by the war and all of its demands, students over these last few years have been using outdated textbooks. And, as the teachers can attest, some of those textbooks are so old that they were actually falling apart.
Attacks by Russian forces have also targeted Russia's printing houses. Just last May, the Faktur-Druk printing house in Kharkiv, one of the largest printing houses in all of Europe, was severely damaged and forced to stop operations. But, as with everything that the Russians target, Ukrainians have worked quickly to repair such printing houses so that they can resume production. Working closely with Minister Lisovyi’s team, USAID has invested $8 million in reprinting these books at printing houses right here, in Ukraine, and, again, in distributing those books across the country.
According to the Ministry of Education, these new textbooks – this 3.2 million new textbooks – will now serve 20 percent of the entire school age population in Ukraine. Now we know that with Putin hitting the basic tenets of life here in Ukraine, we at USAID, on behalf of the American people, cannot confine our support to any one sector.
Putin's forces, for example, are also hitting hospitals. Just over the weekend, on Saturday, Russia attacked a hospital in Sumy, killing ten people and wounding at least 22 more. So, we are helping support Ukraine's health system and providing resources so that the wounded can recover. We continue to directly support more than 830 health care facilities across Ukraine, supplying medical equipment and life-saving medicines. And now, with more than 250,000 people estimated to need rehabilitation support, today I am announcing that we are launching a new $13 million, five year program called Rehab4U, which will help Ukrainians recover from injuries and learn to live with new disabilities, so that they can continue to participate in and contribute to their communities, to the economy, and, of course, to family life.
As winter approaches, Putin is once again attacking energy infrastructure, hoping to use the cold weather as a weapon against the Ukrainian people. So, we have committed $825 million to Ukraine's energy system this winter. This is nearly twice as much as we invested last year, and these resources will allow us to support those who are making repairs, adding capacity and protecting critical infrastructure.
Just last week, I met with President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and a group of CEOs in the energy sector, the insurance sector, and the finance sector to explore opportunities for private investments in support of the energy sector here. Even while we make these investments in the energy sector, we know that the people of Ukraine need help now – especially those who have already been displaced or who are living near the front lines.
Today, I am announcing an additional $237 million in humanitarian funding through USAID and the U.S. State Department. This new funding will help our partners provide life-saving necessities like food, shelter, and health services to Ukrainians within the country and those displaced outside of the country. Importantly, it will also supply items to help households prepare for the cold – that, even as we can begin to feel today is coming – thermal blankets, bedding, winter clothing.
In total since Putin invaded, USAID has delivered $32.5 billion of humanitarian and development assistance to the Ukrainian people. The United States has been by your side, and we will stay by your side. To the children here – and we have some of the students who are gathered with us in the audience – you represent the extraordinary promise of Ukraine's future, not the future that some neighboring autocrat wants to impose upon you, but the free and democratic future the Ukrainian people continue to fight for every day. You deserve, just like all children deserve, to shape the future that you want for yourselves. That is your right and it is our privilege, the privilege of our lives, in fact – those of us who get to be part of this effort in the United States or from the United States – it is the privilege of our lives that we get to stand with Ukrainian people as they seek to defend that right.
Thank you so much, and I'm happy to take your questions.
QUESTION: Madam Power, Zelenskyy warned everyone that Russians are out to destroy switch gears and target facilities near the nuclear power plants of Ukraine. Provided this worst case scenario is in place, will the USAID help Ukraine going through the winter? Thank you.
ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Thank you. Well, of course, we are very concerned about, always, what Russian forces will do because they have shown over the life of this war and in the invasion of Crimea before it, that they view nothing off limits – not hospitals, not schools, not energy infrastructure in advance of winter – and the toll that has already been taken on Ukrainian families is immeasurable.
I don't want to get into specifics on particular energy infrastructure and particular vulnerabilities beyond to say that we are working hand in glove with our Ukrainian counterparts to prioritize preparations, whether that is passive protection or whether that is moving aggressively to distribute more energy, so that it is less concentrated and thus less vulnerable. And – but I think we are very aware of Putin's intention to weaponize the cold, to try to sap the morale of the Ukrainian people to try to get Ukrainians to flee the country. Putin sees just how resilient the Ukrainian economy has proven – its extraordinary economic growth rates, its extraordinary increases in exports, not only agricultural exports, but also technology and tech services. And so he sees that more and more revenue is coming into the government from Ukrainian citizens, and from taxes and customs. So again, we have to anticipate everything and follow the lead of Ukrainians on the front lines of thinking through how best to optimize in advance of winter.
QUESTION: Thank you very much. To follow up the energy question, do you have an opportunity, or did you have an opportunity, to check the safety of Ukrainian infrastructure objects. Ukraine pays very much attention to save them and to protect them. Have you checked and how can you say whether these infrastructure objects are well protected before the winter? Thank you.
ADMINISTRATOR POWER: I think that obviously, the individuals, the Ukrainians, who are doing the work supported by USAID and others in the international community, are extremely alert to safety risks, and they're extremely alert to the indifference on the part of the Russian Federation to the safety of Ukraine's civilians – indeed, you know, the recurrent attacks designed deliberately to endanger the lives and security of Ukrainian citizens. I think it's probably best for me to refer the question regarding specific safety and specific institutions to the Ukrainian Minister of Energy if that is the infrastructure you're referring to.
But, you know, there – all of the protections that are being undertaken are being under – and all of the acts of prevention are being undertaken with an eye to strengthen the resilience of energy infrastructure. Recognizing, again, the intentions – the proven intentions, of the Russian Federation. We are also aware that because of Russia's partnerships with Iran and North Korea, that Russian capabilities have evolved, and thus, again, following the lead of our Ukrainian counterparts, we recognize that the forms of protection and the prioritization for protection has to evolve with the understanding of what the Russian Federation is likely to do, and with an understanding of these new capabilities.
QUESTION: Thank you. Hello, Samantha. I'm Alice from this school of government, and I have a few questions for you.
ADMINISTRATOR POWER: A few!
QUESTION: Yes, two questions. In your opinion, how can Ukrainian young people can help their country during the war? And what inspiration Ukrainians give you nowadays?
ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Thank you so much, and thank you for being here. So, I think one of the things that young people can do is what you just did, which is to ask questions of old people. And by that, I mean, you know, one's teachers, one's local representatives in government, one's national representatives. So much of what Ukraine is fighting for is the freedom to ask questions. It is the freedom to put in place checks and balances so that no one individual or no one institution is too powerful. It is the freedom to say, I don't want to pay a bribe. I understand that in decades past, people used to have to pay bribes for this or that, but no, my generation is not going to do that anymore – we refuse.
We're already seeing young people driving so much of the positive change in Ukraine. I mean the fact that Ukraine is really fighting two wars at once, the war on the front lines and the war to strengthen democracy. In many ways, it is young people fighting both of those wars, you know, young men and women on the front lines – so many, so many making the ultimate sacrifice for Ukraine – but also so many young people insisting that the effort to strengthen democracy be accelerated even in wartime. And whether that's young journalists, young anticorruption advocates, or, you know, just young citizens who, through social media or through Diia, you know, find a way to make their voices heard.
In terms of what inspires me, you know, we repeat this so often that I think maybe now it's even hard for Ukrainians to hear it and to know how sincere it is, but we recognize that you are fighting on behalf of principles that none of us should ever take for granted. You know, before February of 2022, or before the invasion of Crimea, before that, you know, Ukrainians were involved in an effort to strengthen their economy, rid it of corruption, and build a resilient democracy so that people could speak and associate freely.
That was such a profound threat to Putin that he did this – he committed – this all, so many Russian forces, so many Russian lives, is simply interfering with Ukraine's ability to carve its own path. And so what inspires me is even so long now into the full-scale invasion, the national identity that Ukrainians feel, the pride they take in their country, and the determination still that every individual has to make some contribution to the national cause – to the cause of freedom, it's just to see such a broad-based popular contribution to a struggle for freedom is deeply inspiring.
And again, young people are at the heart of that effort. The fact that the war against corruption has been able to proceed and progress at the same time the war to defend your homes is going on is extraordinary and it is something that inspires us all.
QUESTION: So, there are many predictions regarding the next winter for Ukraine. How will – how are we gonna through this winter? And from your perspective, how many hours a day Ukrainians will have electricity? Because, you know, because, you know there are many predictions and speculation regarding this issue, if you can comment on that, thank you.
QUESTION: Hi, thank you. Anastasiia Halushka from The Washington Post, I think we've covered the energy and infrastructure theme more than enough. So, I wanted to ask a question about the underground schools, because I have been to the one in Kharkiv that was built half a year ago and has proven to be quite a success. And, I was wondering whether there are plans to continue investing in these kind of schools in frontline zones. If so, in which regions, cities or even villages, how much money or how many funds have already been allocated to this future endeavor, if any, and is there a planned goal to the extent or the amount of children that you would want to have teaching in these kind of schools by the end of 2025 or whichever year? Thank you.
ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Thank you. With regard to the electricity and power supply that Ukrainians can expect in the coming winter, there are a lot of contingent factors in that, and so I think it is impossible to make a specific prediction.
Our mission, our objective, of course, is to restore as much of the energy that and electricity that was taken offline as we can in advance of the cold, as well as to continue to make investments in backup generation. You know, I was hearing about from Liudmila, the principal here, about electricity outages, even here in Kyiv, and there, of course, are already happening and have happened, but the backup generation means that the disruption to teaching has been, has been minimized.
USAID has provided 4,000 generators, 203 transformers, 124 mobile boiler houses. We have replaced 150 kilometers worth of pipes when it comes to heating. We've repaired 2,500 kilometers of cable, and provided support for 243 emergency shelters. I could go on and on. This is the kind of work we are going to be using the doubling of our energy assistance to support, along with, of course, the provision of passive protection, which is still being built, so-called level two protection, along with the provision of auto transformers which we have purchased and delivered as well as supporting the delivery of those that have been purchased by others.
So, what we will do is build as much support Ukrainians who are building as much resilience into the system as possible. But, it's extremely important as well that countries around the world who have been silent on Russian aggression, publicly or privately, also press the Russian Federation not to attack energy infrastructure. We can never get used to or accept that a permanent member of the UN Security Council would weaponize the cold against civilians. So, you know, there should be outrage. We should never – nobody should ever be numb to just how horrific it is to attack, deliberately, energy infrastructure. So, I think that is worth reinforcing as well.
With regard to the school in Kharkiv, I had a chance to talk to the Minister of Education about that school. Clearly, it is absolutely essential in areas that are near the front line, and families that are still living in Kharkiv are living – are experiencing constant attacks, and that school has allowed families to send their kids to school and, and it has been built in a manner that renders those kids far less vulnerable to those attacks. So, it's extremely important, and it is something that for frontline areas, the Ukrainian government is really interested in replicating.
What we have done is support the Ukrainian Government's building of – building or restoration, in most cases restoration, replenishment of shelters like the one we saw here today in about 10,000 schools. I think, now, and that's extremely important, because shelters give parents far more peace of mind when they send their kids off in the morning. There's no greater sense of vulnerability, as every parent knows, than sending your kid to school when the country is at war.
So, I think what we have to work out with the Ministry of Education is how we best prioritize in these coming months. You asked a set of specific questions about how many schools on what timeline, I would just refer you to our education team and also, of course, to the Ministry of Education that will have the specifics on its objectives.
The other thing I wanted to mention, in addition to supporting textbooks – 3.2 million textbooks being printed and then distributed – in addition to this work on expanding the shelters and replenishing – refurbishing the shelters in more than 10,000 schools, we have also supported teacher salaries through our direct budget support and temporary learning centers, or so-called transitional learning centers, and those are more kind of like pop up schools in places that have been subject, in places where the schools have been subjected to devastating Russian attacks.
So, all of this just speaks to the broad set of investments that USAID and the American people are making in the recognition that this is a generation that can't be lost. You know, I will say, you know, we, in the United States, experienced – are continuing to experience the costs of online education during the pandemic. None of the scores in math or English in the United States have recovered from what it was like to go online for more than two years. Knowing that, we feel a responsibility to do everything in our power to help Ukraine keep its kids in school, recognizing the kind of quality education that Ukraine's teachers are giving them, but that requires parents having confidence when they send their kids to school that they will be safe. And that is something, again, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, that we are trying to help make happen in as many places as we can.
Thank you.