and it really cannot be objective, then we will have more weapons, the second army of the world will disappear, china's great ally will disappear, and glory to ukraine, well, that's how i look at it. mr. major, at the very end of our conversation, i would like to ask about your attitude to the formation of ukrainian legions, at first it was announced that it would be in poland from those men who are now abroad, now the czechs are talking about the fact that... this ukrainian the legion will be formed in the czech republic on a voluntary basis from ukrainian refugees and the czech community of citizens of ukrainian origin and this was told by the minister of defense of the czech republic jana chernokhova, she says that we want to continue the training of ukrainian soldiers, so why not cover with this process possibly czech citizens who consider themselves to be of ukrainian nationality and not form some kind of unit, like these of the czech republic and poland... regarding the formation of a conditional

reserve army for the armed forces, how effective is this process, and what will it give? look, i can certainly question this point for one simple reason: there is no script term of this service in the context of demobilization, if there is no demobilization, then there is a problem with mobilization. today people still look at the armed forces, you know, they declared... us heroes, closed the door behind us and told us to go to the end until you die, well, how about the other way, today you can either be 200 or you there are 300 seriously disabled, either because of capture, or because of voluntary abandonment of a military unit and a criminal case, well , that is not an option, the state promised the military to settle this, in the previous law they removed the sentence about demobilization, promising to work on a new law, four months have already passed, of course, no one has done anything, and not... recently stefanchuk came out and

said: but we abandoned you, you loks, there will be no dembel during the war, well in principle , i did not doubt that it would be so, but many people hoped, so please tell me, even if this legion is formed there in poland or in the czech republic, anyone who comes there will say: and dembel, when well, we go for a year, for two, for three, well, that is, you understand, and that's it there will be a big problem, it will be a problem precisely for the formation of such a legion, on the other hand, many people are still tripled by russian propaganda that... now you come to the zsu, you will immediately be thrown for meat, without weapons, without anything , our boys are bare-headed, everything and you will all perish, you will all die, and people in principle would like to go, they would just like to learn, and this very moment of the formation of such a unit abroad is like an element that removes russian propaganda in the context that you are not trained, go barefoot, they will be in children, shoes, trained, but the question is whether they will leave, taking into account the situation with that throw, which, excuse the slang, who announced today... not today literally, but

a few days ago, stepanchuk announced that there would be no demobilization, that is, all the promises of the government and the parliament that we will settle it, that's all we fooled you, well, that's all, and this is precisely this element, the biggest demotivator to go to the armed forces. this is the biggest demotivator. thank you, mr. major, for the conversation, this was a major of the armed forces of ukraine, a special officer, a deputy of the eighth convocation verkhovna rada of ukraine. i wish you health, goodbye to... new meetings, and i will remind you, friends, that we work live on the tv channel, as well as on our platforms in youtube and facebook, and throughout our broadcast we conduct surveys, we you today we ask about this, do you expect gold medals from ukrainian olympians? yes, no, everything is quite simple on youtube, either yes or no, write your opinion separately, if you have one, and what you think about the olympics, the participation of ukrainians in the olympics, at the end of the program we let's sum up. of this vote, i want

to introduce our second guest, this is vasyl furman, member of the council of the national bank of ukraine, doctor of economics, mr. vasyl, i congratulate you, thank you for being with us today, i congratulate you, glory to ukraine, glory to the heroes, mr. vasyl, let's begin our conversation on the announced increase in taxes, according to the estimates of the government of ukraine, the state budget lacks uah 500 billion. because of which the situation is critical, it may affect salaries for military and defense procurement, while denys shmyhal, the prime minister of ukraine, says that he plans to receive about 125 billion uah in addition, the government plans to receive this year thanks to the increase in taxes, and this became known at the results of the meeting of the council for the support of entrepreneurship, i will quote mr. shmyhal: we understand that for business it is...

a challenge, but a critical one the need in conditions where the government directed and will direct every hryvnia of businessmen's taxes exclusively to weapons, military salaries and their support, all other expenses require: help to finance international partners, how do you, mr. vasyl, assess the government's intentions raise taxes and will it save the situation? thank you for the question, look, in general we have a deficit of the state budget, a new deficit, it is uah 500 billion, this is also taking into account the fact that we had a deficit of usd 38 billion at the beginning of the year, which will be financed by... our international partners, an additional 500 billion hryvnias arose here. the government of the ministry of finance has repeatedly said why this arose, the need for additional financing. and here i am expressing my personal point of view. on the one

hand, all of us ukrainians understand that we need funds in order to finance the ukrainian army, because someone may have a question, why are our salaries there? partners cannot give us funds, well , it turns out that because of the great war, all the funds that come from international partners go to our budget, they go to finance expenses there, for example, salaries for civil servants, education, health care, the pension deficit is partly covered there fund, but not for financing the salaries of military personnel, not for financing the military-industrial complex, and other issues related to the war, the war. in ukraine financed by the taxpayers of ukrainians, these are individuals and legal entities, plus those borrowings that we take from the domestic market of ovdp, bonds of the domestic state loan, so-called military bonds, it is clear that there is a huge gap today,

500 billion, and only at the expense of taxpayers , well, if we talk about 500 billion from this amount, well, we heard the government's statements that they want to cover a little more than 120 billion this year. and there is a fierce debate about how to do it, and business, government, they are now, well, as far as i understand, they have not yet found such a coherent position, but what i even heard there and stated by some state officials that they know, the truth is born during the discussion, and they want to find this really, to find that middle ground, but what i would like to say is that... when it comes to raising taxes, again, this is my personal opinion, so if we're talking about raising taxes, then we must say frankly that let's raise it, for example, for a year or until the end of martial law, so that all ukrainians and businesses understand that it is precisely for this

period, precisely for this that we agree to tighten our belts, this is the first, second, we have a huge shadow economy in our country today, more than, well, look, various there is... i mean, i 'm in the navy now during the great war, i didn't see the estimates, but before the great war even the official statistics showed that this figure was more than 30%. according to unofficial data , this number is even higher, which means that everyone should pay and finance the ukrainian army, then it looks like the proposals that are available today, well, white business pays, the gray economy is somehow in the shadows, besides, in my personal point of view, the gray economy is when you don't pay taxes during the war, and maybe not during the war is a crime, and we had to worry about and work on this issue a long, long time ago, but we need to bring, well, make such a decision, and what kind of decision can it be, well, this is a question of vat, value added tax, when all are paid, i

understand that there is a question of the socially vulnerable a verse of the population, and then, then, well , for example, medicine, then, then make vat on medicine, as it is today, no. increase, or there is a club, for example, those who buy, well, there, well, socially protected, i.e. simple categories, do not increase vat, on the other hand, raise it slightly. the second direction of funds, which the business often talks about, says, well, let's carry out the reform, we have huge losses in other directions, customs, 100 more billions, annually, well, losses, the tax is ineffective, by 100% and many, many other states. organs can well today, well, let's put it this way, i understand that funds are needed now, if we are talking about reforms, then it is as if they are needed, it is not given quickly, the issue is resolved, but on the other hand, i remember about these reforms and many others, we have been talking for more than 10 years, you understand, yes, we are driving there, so our key

task today is clearly that we need funds, and we have to find them, we have to win back our independence. you speak correctly, and denys shmyhal speaks correctly, and it is clear that the army must be financed during the war, and military personnel should be paid salaries, because this is a priority enough. a priority and a rather difficult priority now, well , it is understood that it is necessary to invest in it, because it is the future of ukraine and a matter of life and death, but here is what the businessmen interviewed by the marketing group adventer group say, that they say that the increase in taxes, ukrainians , increase of entrepreneurs, that the increase of taxes in ukraine will first of all make the business to increase. prices for their goods and services, this was stated by more than 72% of the interviewed entrepreneurs.

in addition, the business plans to try to optimize the payment of taxes and expenses, will look for new sales markets and reduce staff, i.e. it turns out that all taxes that will be introduced in the event of a mini-tax reform or these special measures in the tax legislation will fall on quiche ordinary citizens, ukrainians, who will pay more for goods and services, part of the business will generally go into the shadows, you have already mentioned about 40% of the shadow economy, and you mentioned the reforms, which are necessary in ukraine, about these reforms of the last five years, they said that the customs office needs to be reformed, that there are a lot of holes, that there is a lot of money going into the pockets too, right? there is another alternative now to fill the budget, besides raising taxes, because

business is already working in extraordinary conditions, plus some businesses do not pay taxes at all or minimize taxes, and some businesses plan to minimize their taxes in case taxes are increased, there is another option for filling the budget, and thanks for that question, once again i saw. such a study, and it really deserves attention, and i tried to explain this topic from different sides, and once again find a compromise solution with business and clearly carry out further reforms so that the budget can be filled, are there still funds? look, and due to the fact that our revenue part of the budget is growing, well, if we are talking about last year, there was more overperformance, well, for the whole year, more than. 1 triel of the hryvnia, and if we talk about last year, the revenue part was more than 50%,

if we compare it with the beginning of the year, the end of the year, well, when we planned, because a lot of changes were made to the budget, well, increasing the revenue part, in the same way this year, in principle, the revenue part is being over-executed at the expense of one or another source, and i am sure that because the ministry of finance sees it, i am sure that during the meetings with business... when we saw that high-ranking officials there hold meetings with business and these questions were also raised, what decisions will be made in this matter, just finally, finally, i don't know, but i know for sure what you said, and i say it again, financing the ukrainian army should be a priority, if we are talking about reducing some state expenses, yes, they need to be reduced, but believe me, it is not that big... which, let's say yes, well, it is possible to reduce it, because a lot of things have already been reduced, then, if we are talking about,

for example, taking part of the funds from local budgets, well, let's raise them, for example, last year there was a huge approach, well, let's say so, the solution is there in relation to banks, it was very, well, it gave a lot revenues, but were not popular among banks, when they taxed the banks' profits at 50% and took away these profits from the banking system. it was a one-year decision, the rate was raised to 50%, and for the other years, the rate was raised to 25%. let me remind you that business pays, well, in our country , income tax is 18%, that is, banks already pay more there, well, by 7%. therefore, what are the other solutions, that is, and are there any, well, i think that the ministry of finance, if there were solutions to quickly find money, this would probably be the question, but it is very unpopular, you see, it is an unpopular decision. raising taxes, the fact that business does not support, or there, we, well, the population, we understand it, because

raising taxes means you earn less, but on the other hand, everyone understands that the army needs to be financed, and therefore , yes, we need to find funds, and maybe, maybe, mr. vasyl, we still need to talk about the fact that we need to transfer the funding of all government bodies to the state of emergency, martial law, because, well, for example, according to... assistants of people's deputies raise salaries and this decision was passed in the verkhovna rada of ukraine by the top managers of ukrposhta and other large companies there. receive large salaries in spite of everything, that is, well, we have to live on the incomes and on the opportunities that we have, and not because part of the people will live as they lived before the war, all the rest will pay this tax there the burden that will fall on the business, and

look, you raised again a very difficult question and i... personally, i do not support you on that side in that part of the question where, for example, well, let's do so that the head of ukrposhta received the minimum wage, and did other heads also receive a salary themselves, that is, i am categorically against such positions, because precisely thanks to effective actions, if we are talking about okyrposhta, the management of okyrposhta, that is, we managed to one of the very, very corrupt backward such systems, structures, and the company today... is being reformed and yes, it is clear that a lot still needs to be done, but the very fact that it is moving in the right direction, and it is also necessary to do with other state structures, and the salaries of managers should be market-based, because, well, conditionally, the same head of ukrpochta, he worked abroad before taking the position of ukerpochta management, he had a sufficiently high salary, and

by and large, in fact, ukraine invited him in order for him to come and reform the great. state structure, for example, by the way, i will even come from the other side, for example, a structure that has already been reformed and is showing its results, this is the national bank of ukraine, you remember the first stage of the war was 14, 15 years, what happened to the banking system, more than 100 banks were taken out of the market, do you remember what happened to the hryvnia, which flew into space during this period of time, do you remember what happened to 60% inflation, and now , well, the period of the great war, the 22nd, 23rd, 24th years, how professional is the national bank. how stable is the banking system, thanks to the successful reforms that have been carried out in the banking market, including the national bank of ukraine, for nine years, starting essentially from the 15th year, and we will continue to reform, and because very we need a lot of adopted legislation, we are now taking leaps and bounds towards the european union, and we need to unify tens of thousands of regulatory and legal documents

in order to become a european, well, equal member of the eu in the short term. but look, again, we have a lot of inefficient state enterprises today, i read it and i see it, and i am all for reforming them so that they are there and there is less corruption, so that they are more profitable and so that we could then pay the profits to of the state budget, and not the state supported them from its own budget, that is, in this direction, where should we look, the shadow economy, in various studios we talked for dozens of years and that... it was just changing in this direction that we need to work, by the way, we are with customs you discussed, it is simply already there, it is already a structural beacon, that is, we are a structural beacon in front of the international monetary fund, and we have, it seems, by the end of october to adopt a law that will start, let's say, the start of customs, and i am sure of that simply that really we can customs

reform and it will work as in the european union, and there are many, many other directions that need to be implemented. thank you. thank you, mr. vasyl, i would like to be as optimistic as you, but i remember the year 2019, the month of july, when volodymyr oleksandrovich zelenskyy held numerous meetings with customs officers, asked what cars they drive, what phones they have, what he will restore order at the customs, i remember, it was 5 years ago, we again came to the point that it is necessary to restore order at the customs, it is necessary to restore order in all state institutions, it is necessary to bring everyone to their senses. well, let's hope it happens sooner or later. it was vasyl furman, a member of the board of the national bank of ukraine, doctor of economic sciences. thank you for participating in the program. let me remind you, friends, that we work live on the espresso tv channel, as well as on our youtube and facebook platforms. for those who are watching us live now, please vote in our poll, we

ask you this, do you expect gold medals from ukrainian olympians? yes, no, everything is quite simple on youtube, yes, no, or... if you have a separate opinion, please leave it in the comments below this video. if you are watching us on tv please vote on the appropriate numbers if you expect gold medals from our olympians, 0800-211-381, no, 0800-211-382. all calls to these numbers are free, vote at the end of the program and we will sum up the results of this vote. next, we have yevhen magda, executive director of the institute of world politics. mr. yevgeny, i congratulate you, thank you for joining. to our broadcast, congratulations, mr. serhiy, glory to ukraine, glory to the heroes, mr. yevgeny, let's start our conversation with zelenskyi's already announced big shot. reserve and changes, personnel changes in the government, because zelensky is now talking about the fact that there will be new resignations, appointments, why

the president, who has concentrated maximum power in his hands and the hands of his closest circle, continues to talk about personnel changes, what they are changing, in fact, i don’t know, because volodymyr zelenskyi has a law degree in ukraine and he should know the basics of legislation, well, after all, glory by god, he has been leading the state for 5 years, he must already have a legal education, well, i am not saying that legal education should improve, but there must be people who somehow pass his statements through the sieve of expediency before going on the air, and well, there are only two in the government. two ministers, this is the sphere of powers of the president, the minister of defense and the minister of foreign affairs, it seems that no one interferes with them, there are a third of the vacancies in the government, that is

, performing their duties, at first they wanted to shake the prime minister, but then it turned out that they were not you can send the government, well, if they send the prime minister, then the government has fallen behind in our country of course, they like to look for different , similar things, but, well, it must be some kind of healthy stupidity, and how can the same scumbag work when they say that he will soon be thrown out politically, although he is already a record holder, 4.5 years practically heads the government, and during this time. did not take a single step to form his own political image, do you remember at one time yevgeny marchuk was sent to resign for this, that

is, in fact, i see that the ministers have finally changed into suits, well, how, although they look more or less solid, already passed this period of military communism in our government, only so far the presidents cannot... dress to at least casual, because this military style, it seems, is already tiring everyone, including our partners, but, judging by today's publications by bloomberg, the partners are more tired not by the way zelensky dresses, but by the fact that there is a head of the president’s office in the circle of power, who is taking on powers that are not characteristic of him... by the way, mr. yevgeny, i will quote to our viewers, because not all of them saw this publication on bloomberg about andriy yermak, i am quoting what bloomberg writes, he

writes that yermak himself also does not deny his growing influence, i do not participate in every work, i only coordinate, so i am very proud of that , that the president asks my opinion, but he asks my opinion because... i get results, that's how yermak explains his influence in the president's entourage, in the publication itself, what it says is that a person who was not voted for ukrainians, but has very large powers and manages in almost all matters in the state, and this is probably the main thesis of this entire publication, well, the most important thing is that in the conditions when zelensky has already been in power for more than 5 years and his presidential term has already been extended, there is still this person who constantly tries to move pieces on the chessboard with the appearance of the president of ukraine. this publication,

in your opinion, is a big greeting to volodymyr oleksandrovych from our western partners, because such publications would probably not appear in bloomberg just like that. well, i wasn't looking would some conspiracy theory, i think this post. the fact that our partners are fully aware of the situation that exists in ukraine, and they deal with it to a certain extent, but they can't, it's only, you know, in the fantasies of our short-sighted citizens, there can be some kind of intervention, interference and so on. actually, well, it's absolutely clear to me that nothing like that can happen, but it's just that i... i think that this should be a signal for volodymyr zelensky, because when you can, as they say, remember this saying, when

volodymyr's mandate will end. there will be people who will accuse him of illegally delegating his powers, and i am not sure that andriy yermak will take responsibility in this situation, he will rather say: what about me, i was the president who instructed me, and i carried out but here i'm not a lawyer, i don't have a law degree and i think that the responsibility may be less here. it's not funny, but let's see, we still understand that there will be no elections in the near future, that the elections at the moment, well, they are serious it is a challenge for ukraine to conduct them, and these are all things that at the moment, well, i would say, fix a not very good situation in

ukraine. andriy yeermak is one of those who prepared the second peace summit, the first peace summit and is preparing the second peace summit, yarma says that it will be very important for ukraine to ensure the participation of china in the next peace summit, and in his opinion, beijing is a big player, which is really able to influence russia, at the same time, as evidenced by sociology, which has been up to date. on the national democratic survey institute and the kyiv international institute of sociology, most ukrainians believe that ukraine should enter into negotiations with russia in order to try to achieve peace. 57% of respondents were in favor of negotiations, 38% were against. it is worth noting that a year ago the results were the opposite, only 33% were in favor of negotiations, 63% were against. at

the same time, 66 respondents believe that ukraine should return the territory under its control by 2014, including donbass and crimea, the options for agreements, which provide for certain territorial concessions, have much fewer supporters from 6 to 11%. well, mr. yevgeny, how do you explain the fact that more than half of the surveyed ukrainians are still in favor of negotiations with russia. although negotiations with russia, about what, russia issued an ultimatum to ukraine, what can become the subject of such negotiations? let's start with the first, with the first peace summit, whose results give reasons to count on the second, when africa remained for us like yanukovych, undiscovered, that is, we

were supported by units. as well, despite the fact that it was not only ukraine that made diplomatic efforts african countries, representatives of african countries came and supported her communiqué of the peace summit, this is the first time, the second, and why is the head of the president's office, who has no authority to do this, and not the minister of foreign affairs, preparing this.. . a simple question, in fact, we have a minister of foreign affairs who went through quite difficult things together with the country, he is called one of volodymyr zelenskyi’s favorites, especially why, well, that is, why the head of the office of the president, it seems that this causes, well, a certain misunderstanding among our partners, thirdly,

you are absolutely right, i already drew attention to... attention, look, now there is a situation, well, that is, the well-known ultimatum of putin about the four regions, yes, if we go to this ultimatum, we will actually simply postpone the defeat of ukraine in the war with russia, i deliberately say it as hard as it is, because it is a reality, because if the russians can cross... the dnieper without a fight, then the further development of events, it absolutely can be negative for us. and why we decided that russia will negotiate with someone, when we see that they continue to press in the east, and do so persistently enough, not counting the losses much greater than in ukraine. why do we think that everything will be our way? what

grounds do we have for this?