The government will allow authorities in Kharkiv to exempt businesses from local taxes amid Russia's ongoing assault against the city's energy infrastructure, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 12.
Russia has recently escalated its missile and drone strikes against Kharkiv amid a general onslaught against Ukraine's critical infrastructure. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on April 1 that the attacks destroyed "almost all" of the city's energy infrastructure.
In the face of Russia's intensifying aggression, the decision was made to allow tax exemptions for local businesses, Shmyhal announced at the Congress of local and regional authorities under Ukraine's President.
"This applies to Kharkiv, but it also applies to all other territories. We have made it a universal mechanism," Shmyhal said.
The prime minister said that authorities would draw from the state budget to compensate for lost revenue.
During the meeting, Shmyhal also said that more than 40 billion hryvnias (approximately $1.01 billion) had been allocated to stimulate economic recovery in the energy sector.
Kharkiv has suffered near-daily assaults since Russia launched a large-scale attack on March 22 that destroyed the Zmiiv thermal power plant, among the largest in Kharkiv Oblast.
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