The head of the DNR announced the return of the local population to Donetsk

The budget revenues of the DNR increased by 28.4% in 2024, and growth is also expected in 2025. This became known on February 10 at a meeting between Vladimir Putin and the head of the republic, Denis Pushilin. According to the head of the DNR, residents are beginning to return to Donetsk. Nevertheless, the President drew attention to the problems with the accounting of pensionable service and urged not to resettle people in Mariupol far from their former homes.

What was discussed at the meeting

Incomes of the DNR in 2024 increased by 28.4% compared to 2023. This year they may increase by another 1.6 billion rubles. Now the authorities will be able to spend 5.2 billion rubles more on education. "People are coming back. They are coming back to Donetsk - the city of a million roses. We are now seeing, uncharacteristically, perhaps, for other regions, traffic jams that make us happy. This is indeed evidence that people are feeling confident. As the front line is moving away, we see Donbass becoming more peaceful," the head of the region said.

Vladimir Putin praised the work of the perinatal center in Donetsk, which he opened via video link back in April. Here, according to Denis Pushilin, the thousandth child was born in December. In addition, more than 1.5 thousand people became patients of the vascular center in Mariupol: both civilians and members of the SVO. In 2024, 10 FAPs were opened, and this year 18 more will appear in the municipalities of the DNR.

The housing issue is also being resolved. In Mariupol, 64 so-called compensation houses for 4,789 apartments out of 71 planned have already been delivered. At the same time, locals whose housing was damaged should not be moved far away, warned Vladimir Putin. "If you have given - and it is understandable - for development for investors, and investors want to sell, to realize - it is understandable. But people who lived in this house, you can't move them far away: they got used to the neighborhood, maybe they used some social institutions nearby and so on," he said.

Water supply remains another problematic issue in the region. Utility workers eliminate up to 2 thousand accidents on water supply networks in Donetsk every week due to high wear and tear of the infrastructure.

Vladimir Putin asked how the issues related to the pension record are being solved in the region. People complained to the President about the difficulties with this during the direct line, as people had lost or burned their documents. According to Denis Pushilin, the interdepartmental regional commission has received more than 2.3 thousand appeals in this regard. The head of the DNR plans to contact the Labor Ministry to discuss the possibility of counting the preferential length of service of Donbas residents when calculating pensions.