Ukrainian soldiers and all our people should feel that Ukrainian municipalities consider defence to be the first priority.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi said this during the meeting of the Congress of local and regional authorities held in Ivano-Frankivsk.

There were three topics on the agenda of the meeting: energy and protection of Ukraine's energy infrastructure from Russian attacks; international politics, implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula and preparation for the Global Peace Summit, security guarantees for our country and the beginning of negotiations on joining the European Union; budget expenditures at the state and local levels.

Regarding budget expenditures, Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the budget is always a mirror of the priorities of the state, region, and each community. And now the first priority throughout Ukraine is defence.

"Ukrainian warriors and all our people must feel that Ukrainian communities consider defense the first priority, as I have noted today. All of you see the priorities and needs of combat brigades and our other units in which soldiers from your communities, from every city and village of Ukraine serve," the Head of State said.

The second priority, according to the President, is the social sustainability of Ukraine, each city and community, and the protection of the normal life of every person.

The meeting was attended by 98 members of the Congress in person, and more than 1,500 participants online. In total, 93% of its members attended the meeting.