Taking part in the meeting were First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Minister for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Natural Disaster Relief Alexander Kurenkov, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Governor of the Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov, Governor of the Bryansk Region Alexander Bogomaz, and Acting Governor of the Kursk Region Alexei Smirnov.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues.

Today we have convened to discuss the latest developments in the border regions of Russia. Joining us via videoconference are Government members, including Denis Manturov, whom I asked to personally address all the socioeconomic issues in these territories, as well as the heads of the Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk regions.

Let us get down to work. Mr Manturov, you have the floor.

(The President then heard the report from First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on key issues the Government was currently dealing with in connection with the situation in Russia’s border regions. This was followed by reports from the heads of the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions, as well as presentations by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, Minister of Healthcare Mikhail Murashko, Minister for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Natural Disaster Relief Alexander Kurenkov, and Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov.)

Vladimir Putin: I have one more question for Mr Smirnov. What is happening with the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant?

Acting Governor of the Kursk Region Alexei Smirnov: The situation is stable and under control. Mr Kiriyenko [First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office] has arrived in our region, and we held a meeting with him and senior Rosatom executives. The plant is operating as usual.

Vladimir Putin: Good.

The adversary attempted to target the NPP with strikes last night. The International Atomic Energy Agency has been alerted of this. They promised to visit the facility and send their specialists to assess the situation. I hope they will finally do this.

Let me repeat that I ask you to draft the corresponding instructions and begin implementing them immediately. I suggest that we maintain ongoing communication to ensure timely responses to all issues we face. Of course, I am primarily referring to social sector and being effective in providing assistance to the people. It goes without saying that these people need us to support them.

As for security matters, the security agencies are in charge here, and this is a separate topic. I do hope, however, that the local and regional government bodies, as well the federal Government, security agencies have established a framework for working together, just as we heard in today’s reports. This could also have a positive bearing in terms of achieving our goals in this regard. I will not go over these objectives again, since they are more than obvious.

I would like to thank all of you. Let us stay in touch on these matters. As I mentioned earlier, I will have a separate conversation with Mr Smirnov now.

All the best to you.