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The Governor reported that economic indicators are good despite sanctions and the fact that there were over 450 companies with foreign capital from unfriendly countries in the Leningrad Region. Nevertheless, figures for gross regional product, investment, construction, and industrial production are breaking records. All federal programmes are being implemented. National projects and presidential executive orders were 99.7 percent fulfilled in 2023.

Alexander Drozdenko also told the President about the reconstruction of the Road of Life, the only route via Lake Ladoga for evacuating people from Leningrad and supplying it with food during the Nazi siege of the city. The project will be completed by the end of 2024. However, the city will need federal support for the reconstruction project since the project, according to the Governor, turned out to be “grandiose.”

The Governor informed the President about the activities of the Leningrad Frontier Relief Fund that provides medical, material, technical and humanitarian support to the region’s mobilised servicemen and volunteers in the special military operation zone, as well as to the region-sponsored territories in the DPR. In particular, he spoke about the development of mobile systems for different purposes – for guiding and adjusting the portee artillery fire, because three artillery battalions – Nevsky, Ladozhsky and Leningradsky – are taking part in the special military operation, and the region is actively supporting them. Mobile water purification systems have also been developed.

One more area of the Fund’s work is support of Novorossiya’s youth. All music schools – in Donetsk, Yenakiyevo and other locations – have received musical instruments. And that is not all. In addition, the Fund is organising contests for young talents from Novorossiya so that they can compete with their age mates from Petersburg.

Alexander Drozdenko asked the President to support the creation of a new cluster for participants in the special military operation. It was designed for accommodation, education, professional retraining, manufacture of individual prostheses, prosthetics, and medical rehabilitation. Academic classrooms, rehabilitation centre, dormitories, and facilities for the production of rehabilitation equipment have already been built. The request is related to the difficulties with obtaining permits and licenses in several ministries at once.

Vladimir Putin promised to provide support and suggested discussing the region’s problems with defrauded homebuyers and landfills.

According to the Governor, all instructions related to the first problem will be implemented in the nearest future because the region has a surplus budget which will make it possible to meet these commitments. As for the second problem, together with St Petersburg a single regional operator has been created, and three sites for the construction of large waste recycling plants have been allotted. Three plants will be built for St Petersburg and two for the region. The programme has been fully endorsed. This issue will be resolved by the end of 2025.

The discussion also touched upon the problem of clean water to resolve which the President had previously given instructions. The Governor said the 2025 standards have been achieved ahead of schedule and the work continues, also with their Belarusian colleagues from whom the region has purchased 120 mobile water treatment stations to be installed in small settlements and villages. The region is also cooperating with Russian suppliers and planning to install 170 stations in the next three years.

The implementation of the County Doctor programme was also discussed. Mr Drozdenko told the President how the region is dealing with the shortage of medical personnel.

Vladimir Putin noted that in general the region is showing very good development rates. Population growth is an integral indicator. The Leningrad Region is one of the few regions in the Russian Federation, where the number of permanent residents is always on the rise.