Family lever: Donbass and Novorossiya have reached a steady increase in the birth rate

By 2030, the regions of Donbass and Novorossiya should reach the all-Russian level in all key indicators, including the quality of life of people. This was stated by Vladimir Putin on June 13 at a meeting on the development of reunified regions. A lot has already been done in the new regions, the president acknowledged, for example, 2.4 million residents are already receiving benefits, about 1 million square meters have been introduced. They say almost 260 industrial enterprises have been launched. However, there are still many more unresolved issues. For example, there is a shortage of personnel and the situation with water supply.

What has been achieved over the years of the development of Donbass and Novorossiya

On June 13, Vladimir Putin convened a meeting on the development of the DPR and LPR, as well as the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. Not only the heads of the regions, but also the heads of law enforcement agencies, as well as representatives of the presidential administration and the Cabinet of Ministers joined via video link. The main speakers were Deputy Prime Ministers Marat Khusnullin and Tatiana Golikova, who are responsible, in particular, for the state of infrastructure and social development of the regions.

"In fact, the whole of Russia, hundreds of labor collectives, volunteer movements, and public organizations have lent a hand to Donbass and Novorossiya, united to help unlock the enormous potential of these lands and create conditions for a creative and stable life," the president said.

Vladimir Putin reminded the audience of the ambitious integration tasks, the main of which is to bring the regions of Donbass and Novorossiya to the all—Russian level by 2030 in all key indicators, including the quality of life of people. The program of socio-economic development of Donbass and Novorossiya is being implemented in full, the Deputy prime ministers stated.

The authorities have already been able to achieve certain results: 2.4 million residents of the new regions have already been covered by federal support measures that all Russians rely on, Tatyana Golikova said. More than 1.5 million people are already receiving pensions, and 27 thousand citizens have recalculated their insurance experience, taking into account their work in Ukraine. Almost 140,000 certificates for maternity capital were issued, and 50% were used. 36 thousand families with 56 thousand children also receive a single benefit today.

— The support measures that we are implementing are gradually yielding results. Over the past three years, we have seen that the birth rate is still slowly increasing. The leader here is the Donetsk People's Republic, which has grown by 14% in three years,— Tatiana Golikova said.

The active development of infrastructure also continues — more than 7.7 thousand multi-family residential buildings have already been restored in the regions, about 85% of public transport has been brought to a standard condition, over 260 healthcare facilities, 1.7 thousand educational facilities, 500 cultural and sports facilities have also been restored. In total, more than 25,000 different facilities have been restored and rebuilt in Donbass and Novorossiya — schools, hospitals, clinics, sports grounds, energy and communal infrastructure. About 1 million square meters have also been commissioned. Almost 260 industrial enterprises have been built and started up.

Economic potential of new regions

There are also significant successes in the economy. The volume of investments attracted to Donbass and Novorossiya through the banking sector increased by 30% in the first five months of 2026, Marat Khusnullin said. The free economic zone contributes to the influx of investments and the growth of business activity in historical regions. The number of participants has already exceeded 500, and the volume of announced investments in the territory has reached 383 billion rubles. The volume of tax revenues from the regions of Donbass and Novorossiya to the federal budget exceeded 435 billion rubles by the end of 2025, which is 22% more than in 2024, Marat Khusnullin added.

The work of industrial enterprises is actively being restored, agriculture is also developing, Marat Khusnullin said. The resource and recreational potential of the Azov Sea region should increase significantly, the president is confident. To do this, it is necessary to expand the transport and tourism infrastructure, involve land in the turnover for agriculture, bring the fisheries complex to a new level, and eliminate accumulated environmental damage, he stressed.

— In the first quarter of 2026, agriculture in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions came out on top in terms of the number of investments. These regions certainly have huge industrial and agricultural potential. The qualitative development of the agricultural sector in the reunified territories contributes to the restoration of the economic potential of the regions. In 2026, financing of projects for the development of agriculture and rural areas of Donbass and Novorossiya will increase to 8.5 billion rubles," Yulia Ogloblina, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues, told Izvestia.

How does the situation in the combat zone affect the development of Donbass and Novorossiya

Much has already been done in the new regions of the Russian Federation, the president acknowledged, however, according to the head of state, there are many more unresolved issues. Among them, for example, are indicators for the provision of medical personnel. They have not yet been achieved in the regions of Donbass and Novorossiya, 46,000 doctors work there, Tatyana Golikova said. The tasks in the new regions are indeed large-scale and complex, but the authorities already have an understanding of how to solve them, Marat Khusnullin assured. For example, it is already possible to maintain the volume of water supply: in Mariupol, they switched to daily supply. "And we have already achieved good results in reducing losses," he said.

Vladimir Putin noted that new regions have to be developed in difficult conditions of drone attacks and shelling. The President thanked the residents of Donbass and Novorossiya for their courage, as well as all the workers, hundreds of labor collectives, volunteer movements and public organizations that help restore historical regions, despite threats.

"Our troops are maintaining a strategic advantage, confidently moving forward, and no amount of shelling or drone strikes will change this situation,— the head of state noted.

The enemy cannot contain the onslaught of the Russian Armed Forces at the front and is turning to terrorist methods: the Armed Forces of Ukraine are attacking civilian facilities and communications, as well as passenger transport, the president said. In the last two weeks alone, there has been a series of similar attacks: on the morning of June 8, a Ukrainian drone attacked a passenger train from Moscow to Simferopol, where an assistant driver was killed. On June 4, one person was killed in an attack on a commuter train traveling from Azov to Kerch. On June 3, an APU drone struck a Moscow—Simferopol bus in Yenakievo in the DPR, killing eight people. On the day of the meeting, the Ukrainian Armed Forces militants seriously damaged the Holy Mountains National Park, located near Slavyansk in the DPR.