and march 2023, russia launched 875 missiles and hundreds of drones targeting critical energy infrastructure. cities and villages suffered many hours and even days without electricity and communication, and the looming threat of week - long blackouts became a reality. what did it mean for us as a central bank? a new task emerged : to ensure seamless operation of the banking system and uninterrupted access to banking services under any conditions. a wide - scale project power banking, implemented in cooperation with ukrainian banks, provided a solution. it consolidated over two thousands branches of different banks into a single network. these branches were equipped with alternative power sources, backup communication channels, had enhanced cash collection capacity, additional staff, and a shared system of continuous operation protocols. even during the darkest and coldest winter days, people could conduct cash transactions or just charge their phones and find warmth in these bank branches. but power banking is more than a mere response to missile attacks. once again, we adopt a broader perspective, since a blackout may be caused by a cyber - attack or a natural disaster. our power banking protocols comprehensively address these scenarios, and you will agree that they can happen anywhere. therefore, my second insight is this : a central bank must execute its mandate under any conditions. the nbu has ingrained this principle into its dna. in may 2023, we updated the nbu strategy, broadening our mission statement. same as before, the nbu should ensure price and financial stability. however, we have now made a commitment to fulfill this mandate under all conditions. third, spotlighting the sanction track became one of the survival conditions. the matter of resources is essentially the matter of opportunities. for ukraine it signifies the ability to endure and eventually win. for russia it represents the means to continue its aggression and the global order destruction. sanctions help change the balance of power. thus, their enhancement and ongoing monitoring have been added to our list of tasks since financial companies are always a part of this " supply chain ". we are taking all the necessary steps domestically, severing any connections of our financial sector with russia. we successfully nationalized russian banking assets in order to ensure financial stability. these actions mitigate the risks related to terrorist attempts of russia to target our financial system and to undermine our defense. additionally, we cooperate with our partners to strengthen international sanctions pressure. it is unacceptable to turn a blind eye to the global impact of russian war against ukraine. here is my third insight :

policy and documents on cooperation with our partners. while the first stage of our program with the imf defined the key task as " maintain macroeconomic, external, and financial stability, in order to strengthen 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches ukraine's capacity on its way to victory ", the second stage focuses on recovery and reconstruction. these words are mentioned in the memorandum with the imf more than 80 times. to achieve this, it is important to switch from anti - crisis measures to forward - looking and balanced policy. for this purpose, we moved from the fixed rate to er managed flexibility. we are cutting our policy rate. gradually, we are easing the fx market restrictions and moving towards our strategic objective : return to inflation targeting. we are returning to normality, and i remain hopeful that we will continue on this path, despite the ongoing war. strong economic recovery requires revival of lending. this is why we prepare our lending revival strategy taking into account war realities, including the need to boost the defense of the country. in conclusion, i would like to emphasize that ukrainian experience shows, that despite the fact that the mandate of a central bank is clearly defined, new challenges make us look for the new ways to fulfill it, and these ways may vary. and the most important insight from the two years of the full - scale war is that we, as central bankers, should learn to take a broader perspective. today it is the 716th day of war in ukraine. during this time, there were 978 air raid alerts in kyiv alone. the number and magnitude of challenges have grown, and their impact extends beyond ukraine. i am convinced, that everyone present at this conference would agree. full - scale, cruel, destructive war of russia against ukraine aggravated the risks of global war, geopolitical fragmentation and deglobalization. it has disrupted the " metabolism " of the financial system. this challenge is global, and a risk to global security and global macrofinancial stability, now and in the future. 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches