"The decision is extraordinary, but we need to help": Putin on new measures to support borderland residents

More than 122 thousand residents of Kursk region, who were forced to leave the border territories, will receive 65 thousand rubles monthly "for the period until the complete liberation of the region's territory from Ukrainian formations," Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with members of the government on February 18. The meeting also discussed the consequences of the UAV attack on the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station, which resulted in a 30-40% drop in oil pumping through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) system. At the meeting it was called Kiev's reaction to the negotiations between Russia and the USA in Riyadh. And Vladimir Putin offered foreign shareholders of the consortium to supply equipment for the repair of the pipeline despite the sanctions. They also discussed the prospects of opening the holiday season on the Black Sea coast after the fuel oil spill in the Kerch Strait - the final decision will be made after a detailed survey of 139 beaches in the region.

Who in Kursk region is entitled to a new payment

The meeting began with the issue of support for the residents of Kursk region. The President reminded that all citizens who have lost their property have already received monetary payments, but these measures are still insufficient. The President gave the floor to the head of the Ministry of Finance Anton Siluanov, who was supposed to announce the new payments, but right during the meeting there was a small dispute about their size. The Ministry of Finance proposed to establish an additional monthly payment of 22.5 thousand rubles for the residents of Kursk region, who lost their housing. But Alexander Khinshtein, acting governor of Kursk region, joined the conversation.

- The average salary in Kursk region in December last year was Br64 thousand, and it seems to me that the amount of Br22 thousand does not reflect the real need of people, - he said.

As a result, the president decided to pay Br65 thousand a month to all residents of Kursk region, who have lost their property. We are talking about 112.6 thousand residents. This amount will be paid in addition to the assistance, which the IDPs are already receiving, until the complete liberation of Kursk region from the AFU.

- This will give an opportunity to those who are going to equip a new home, to start some repairs, to purchase some additional property. Yes, this measure is an extraordinary decision. We have never done anything like this before, but people have never been in this situation before. We need to help," said Vladimir Putin.

This decision will not hit other sectors of the budget, member of the SF Committee on Budget and Financial Markets Yevgenia Uvarkina told Izvestia.

- The budget always requires a balance, but in this case the priority is obvious - help is needed here and now, and it will be provided," the senator said.

Consequences of the drone attack on the CPC

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reported on the situation at the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which was attacked by UAVs on February 17. The strike was carried out by seven unmanned aerial vehicles.

- As a result of switching on the backup pumping scheme, bypassing the Kropotkinskaya pumping station, in general we see a decrease in volume by about 30-40% compared to the level that was before the drone attack," said Deputy Prime Minister.

According to him, the attack could have been "a response to the United States of America on the part of Ukraine regarding the negotiations that had been planned". That is, in fact, an attempt to influence the resumption of dialog between Russia and the United States in Riyadh.

The CPC is already assessing the damage and it will take at least several months to repair the consequences of the attack, Novak added.

A lot of work will have to be done to restore the facility, as it used energy equipment, including that produced by Western countries, he said.

The oil supplied through the CPC pipeline belongs to foreign companies.

- This is not a Russian organization, it is an international organization. And the oil, as far as I understand, under production sharing agreements, essentially belongs to these foreign shareholders. The oil that was pumped through this CPC pipeline. I understand that representatives of these companies are involved in assessing the damage that was caused by the attack. And they assess the terms and possibilities of restoring the facility," the Russian President said.

He offered foreign shareholders of the CPC to supply equipment to repair the pipeline after the AFU attack, despite the sanctions. The President asked the government to assist the owners of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium in restoring the operation of the facility.

Disconnection of the Baltic States from the energy ring with Russia and Belarus

Another topic of the meeting was the disconnection of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia from the Soviet-built BRELL energy ring, which connected the energy systems of these three countries with Russia and Belarus. The disconnection occurred on February 8 and caused certain problems for the Kaliningrad region, which has no land connection to Russia.

"Gazprom is ready to fully ensure the energy security of the region, the president said. Nevertheless, he called for monitoring the situation in the Kaliningrad region.

However, neither the Kaliningrad region nor the Russian energy system has felt any effect from the Baltic countries' disconnection from BRELL, and there are no price consequences, Novak said. Meanwhile, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have seen electricity prices on the wholesale market double with the potential for further increases, and a number of companies have already announced closures.

- If earlier they were about €100 per megawatt, today the average price for the last 10 days is already €200, and reached up to €270 on some days. We believe that this is not even the limit, because there is limited capacity with the adjacent power systems of Sweden, Poland, Finland," Novak said.

Whether the summer season will be opened at the Black Sea resorts

also discussed the process of liquidation of the consequences of the wreck of tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 near the Kerch Strait. About 2.4 thousand tons of oil products got into the sea. The Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar region suffered most of all from the pollution, the emergency regime of federal character was introduced in Kuban.

Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev specified: today about 40% of the stern part of the tanker "Volgoneft-239" has already been dismantled, it is planned to complete dismantling and removal of the stern of the vessel by March 31. The President instructed to lift fuel oil from the bottom of the Black Sea as quickly as possible.

- What is it? Everything is lying there like a time mine. Should we wait for a hole to appear there? We need to think about how to lift all that lies at the bottom, - said the head of state.

In Krasnodar region regional authorities now have to check 139 beaches. The decision to open the summer season on the Black Sea coast will be made only after confirmation of compliance of the beaches with the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor. Vitaly Savelyev promised to present the first results of the inspection of the state of the Russian tanker fleet and the relevant regulatory framework for the transportation of oil and petroleum products in May.

How many Russians will undergo medical examination in 2024

The Cabinet of Ministers came to the stated topic of the meeting - the results of the medical examination of children and adults in 2024 - towards the end of the meeting. In 2024, 82 million adults and 27 million children, or almost 75% of the country's residents, will undergo medical examinations and physical examinations in Russia. The coverage of children's population by physical examinations in 2024 amounted to over 97%, 200 thousand teenagers were diagnosed with diseases. In addition, 630 thousand Russians were diagnosed with oncology, 375 thousand of them at early stages.

- It is important that 60% of these patients are at early stages. We are also recording similar detection dynamics for other diseases. And behind these figures are hundreds of thousands of lives saved," said Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova.

According to the President, the health care system has a "good response" to oncological diseases, but it is necessary to react "to the maximum" to all diseases detected during the medical examination of the population.

The head of the executive committee of the "People's Front" Mikhail Kuznetsov during the meeting, first of all, proposed to allow the passage of medical examinations using Saturday days.

The "People's Front" told "Izvestia" that according to their surveys, 14.4% of citizens do not undergo checkups and physical examinations because they have to spend several days on them. About 13.6% of citizens do not undergo routine checkups because, in their opinion, they do not include the necessary tests and doctors. 25% of citizens do not receive a day off from their employer to undergo the procedure, and another 35% do not apply for it at all, as they consider it useless.