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The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 27 August 2022.

Ukraine will be able to defeat the aggressor with modern weapons from partners, which will significantly increase the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but Russia will try to prevent such a development by provoking crises in Europe. Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said this in an interview with the U.S. publication The Hill.

He said that maintaining strength of Ukrainian forces on the battlefield and effective defense allows it possible to push back on Russia’s attempts to force Ukraine into so-called negotiations, which will be a “death sentence” for our country.

“President Zelenskyy is definitely against it [negotiations], and the Ukrainian society is adamant there, because we fully appreciate the risks,” the adviser to the head of the Office of the President said.

Absent negotiations, Podolyak said Vladimir Putin is likely to focus on a war of attrition to grind down international support.

“They will start to manipulate, behind the scenes, moods, activities, to profess and to deepen this war fatigue,” the adviser to the head of the President’s Office said.

Podolyak said that the Russian Federation is capable of manufacturing crises in Europe like sending an overwhelming number of migrants to Europe’s borders. Or it could also think of some terrorist attacks against infrastructural facilities in Europe, so that they can arrive at some negotiation position, or standing for their own benefits and their own plans.

The adviser to the head of the President’s Office said that the needed modern weapons can quickly turn the tide of the war, if the country can get more of them faster. This was repeatedly emphasized by the political and military leadership of our country.

Podolyak noted the importance of the new additional U.S. assistance of $3 billion for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to him, this assistance is also an important signal to encourage other, more cautious, Western powers to give more active support for Ukraine.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 26 August 2022.

When Ukraine reaches its internationally recognized borders, then Russia will be ready to sit down at the negotiating table and sign a peace treaty. Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the President’s Office, said this in an interview with the Finnish publication Helsingin Sanomat.

Podolyak said that even at the beginning of the full-scale war, and now there is no possibility of negotiating with Russia, which speaks the language of ultimatums and puts forward unacceptable demands.

“Putin’s plan is simple. He wants to restore the Soviet Union in one form or another. Ukraine here is his main enemy,” the advisor to the head of the President’s Office said.

According to him, the independence of our state contradicts the worldview of the representatives of Russia.

Podolyak said that calls for peace talks, which sometimes come from some European capitals, are based on assumptions that proved to be false back in 2008 and 2014.

“If Russia is allowed to win the war, it will be able to dictate its terms to Europe. This leads to the advance of Russia to Moldova, Georgia, Northern Kazakhstan or the Baltic states. Russia will begin to manipulate the internal politics of the European Union, provoking extreme left and extreme right forces. A chain reaction will begin in the world when other authoritarian states realize that they can achieve their goal with the help of an aggressive war,” the adviser to the head of the Office of the Head of State said.

However, in his opinion, the war between Russia and Ukraine will still end at the negotiating table, but only after the Russian Federation suffers significant tactical losses at the front.

“Russia is really ready for peace only if it has suffered significant tactical losses. Then it stops giving ultimatums and is forced to listen to the arguments of others. When Ukraine reaches the borders defined in 1991, then Russia will be ready to sit down at the negotiating table and sign a peace treaty. This is the only chance to guarantee the liberal values and freedom of Europe,” Podolyak is convinced.

In his opinion, the defeat of Russia will also give freedom of choice to Belarus, which can become a real European democracy.

However, currently, as the adviser to the head of the President’s Office said, Ukraine is conducting negotiations with the Russian Federation only regarding prisoners and other tactical issues.

“We are also talking about the defenders of Azovstal, but we are making very slow progress, because Russia wants to get as much propaganda benefit from them as possible. The Red Cross and the UN are weak in this. They should become more active,” he said.

As Podolyak said, in the war in Ukraine, Russia crossed all permissible limits and must answer for its crimes, because otherwise the entire European security system will lose its authority.

According to the adviser to the head of the President’s Office, Ukraine managed to slow Russia’s advance in Donbas, although the Russian army makes 40,000-50,000 shots from assorted artillery every day.

“The war has entered the fourth stage. Russia brought as many pieces of equipment and people as possible to Ukraine. They are waging an artillery war that they want to continue until winter,” he said.

At the same time, as Podolyak said, the Russian Federation is trying to exhaust Europe with a shortage of energy carriers so that it gets tired of helping our country in this war.

The adviser to the head of the President’s Office said that Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south is moving forward.

“We are trying to effectively destroy the logistics and command positions of the Russians. Our goal is to complicate their supply and force them to retreat before the onset of winter,” Podolyak said.

To gain an advantage on the battlefield, Ukraine needs modern weapons, in particular air defense systems, for which Ukrainian authorities turn to foreign governments.

“The anti-missile potential is very important because Russia attacks residential areas with cruise missiles,” the adviser to the head of the President’s Office said.

In addition to weapons, according to him, assistance is needed for the Ukrainian economy, which Russia tried to destroy by bombing factories, ports and agricultural enterprises.

Separately, Podolyak thanked Finland for the assistance provided and expressed hope for active support of Ukraine on the way to EU membership.

“We have very warm relations with Finland. Finland is one of those countries that understand that we are all in danger if Russia remains the same as it is now,” the adviser to the head of the President’s Office said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 26 August 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held the second meeting of the group to develop proposals for our country’s participation in the Working Group of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Bribery in International Business Transactions.

Yermak said that today combating corruption is of particular importance, and Ukraine’s participation in the OECD Working Group should become one of the tools for speeding up the European integration of our country.

In addition, the fight against corruption remains among the important aspects of government policy in Ukraine and the priorities of our cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

“Today, we need to make the most of our EU’s candidate status and future candidacy in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as cooperation with our partners,” the head of the President’s Office said.

He noted the high level of Ukraine’s communication with partner states and international organizations, which helps our country in confronting the aggressor.

“This is a very great motivation, a great weapon – in every sense of the word, which helps us move towards our victory. Our desire to join the OECD is an absolutely logical step,” Yermak said.

The head of the President’s Office emphasized the importance of taking clear steps to achieve the criteria for membership in the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions and developing a package of legislative changes necessary for this.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President Andriy Smyrnov said that the first step on the way to full membership in the OECD Working Group is the status of a member of the group, which the country receives along with undergoing a preliminary evaluation of national legislation and receiving recommendations for its improvement.

On August 2, 2022, the Government of Ukraine sent a letter to the OECD with an application to join the Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions.

As the deputy head of the President’s Office said, the next meeting of the OECD Working Group is to take place in October. Then, as expected, a decision will be made regarding Ukraine’s approach to participation in this group.

To speed up the process of acquiring membership, the Ukrainian side decided to independently analyze the criteria and propose this analysis for our group to make an appropriate decision.

In general, according to Smyrnov, the criteria for joining the OECD Working Group can be divided into four segments: joining the OECD legal acts, criteria of economic factors for assessing “mutual interest,” criteria of the legislative framework for combating bribery of foreign public officials, as well as additional criteria for confirming the desire and ability to cooperate with the OECD Working Group.

The participants of the meeting reviewed the analysis of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and proposals regarding the provisions that need to be introduced into Ukrainian legislation.

“Ukraine is already sufficiently prepared for joining the OECD Working Group, but there are a number of requirements that shall be met,” Smyrnov said.

The participants also discussed the work plan for the next meeting.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 26 August 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak had a video call with American director, screenwriter and producer Bryan Fogel.

His film “Icarus”, which tells the story of the relationship between an amateur cyclist and the head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory Grigory Rodchenkov against the background of an international scandal caused by information about mass doping abuse in Russian sports, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2018.

Andriy Yermak emphasized that today it is extremely important to keep the focus of the world’s attention on what is happening in Ukraine, and the help of such artists as Bryan Fogel will contribute to this.

According to him, the current terrible war, which Russia unleashed against Ukraine, became at the same time the beginning of a new era, new politics, new alliances.

The Head of the President’s Office noted that the Ukrainians are a nation that will be a symbol of heroism for many years to come, as – albeit with the support of other countries – for six months, they have been standing virtually alone with dignity and determination against one of the largest armies in the world.

“And we will continue to fight because we are defending our people, our land and our country,” he said.

The Head of the President’s Office is convinced that Bryan Fogel should definitely show Ukrainians to the world, as they are exceptional people, intelligent, educated, humane, and they are the future of this world.

For his part, Bryan Fogel expressed support for Ukraine and its people.

He noted that he would like to make a large-scale film about the current events in our country, which would remain for ages.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 26 August 2022.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva held a meeting with the delegation of the leadership of the committees of the national parliaments of Finland and the Baltic countries.

The meeting was attended by the heads of the foreign affairs committees of the Parliament of Finland Jussi Halla-aho, Estonia – Marko Mihkelson, Latvia – Rihards Kols, Lithuania – Laima Liucija Andrikienė.

Ihor Zhovkva informed the foreign parliamentarians about the current security situation in our country in the context of ongoing Russian aggression. He called for maximum efforts to increase the volume of heavy weapons provided to Ukraine, as well as increase the sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation.

In this regard, Ihor Zhovkva expressed gratitude to the participants of the meeting for signing, together with the heads of the parliamentary committees of Denmark, Poland and the Czech Republic, the Joint Statement on strengthening sanctions against Russia for the war being waged against Ukraine.

“An important element of the sanctions should be restrictions at the level of the European Union on issuing visas to Russian citizens,” Ihor Zhovkva emphasized.

The interlocutors discussed the prospects for the participation of the Baltic countries and Finland in a large-scale initiative for the reconstruction of Ukraine, in particular through patronage over one of the regions or cities of our state or the implementation of specific projects.

During the meeting, the status of Ukraine’s implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission necessary for further advancement of Ukraine on the way to EU membership was also discussed in detail.

“The implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission is an ambitious and at the same time realistic task. We consolidated the work of all branches of the Ukrainian government in order to move to the next stage in 2023 – the start of negotiations on joining the EU,” Ihor Zhovkva said.

The heads of the committees of the national parliaments of Finland and the Baltic countries confirmed the unchanging support for the European integration strategy of Ukraine and their determination to provide the necessary expert assistance in the context of our country’s further progress towards membership in the European Union.

Special attention was paid during the meeting to the issue of the activities of the Crimea Platform. The Deputy Head of the Office of the President thanked Finland and the Baltic countries, which were represented at the level of heads of state at the online summit of the initiative held on August 23, 2022.

Ihor Zhovkva emphasized that Ukraine will continue work aimed at the de-occupation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. For this purpose, our state will initiate the holding of the first parliamentary summit of the Crimea Platform in the near future.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 25 August 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with President of the United States of America Joseph Biden.

The Head of State expressed his gratitude to the President of the United States and to the American people for the powerful assistance, both security and macro-financial, provided by the United States to counter the Russian aggression.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy specifically noted yesterday’s announcement of Joseph Biden to provide Ukraine with an unprecedented assistance package worth $6 billion – $3 billion in defense aid, as well as the channeling of $3 billion of financial aid through the World Bank. “This is the best gift for Ukraine on its Independence Day,” the President said, expressing particular gratitude for the inclusion of NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems in this new aid package. “These modern air defense systems will help us protect our cities from missile terror,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

The importance of further macro-financial support of Ukraine was also noted. Volodymyr Zelenskyy highly appreciated the leadership of the United States on this track.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed Joseph Biden about the scale of destruction of the housing and infrastructure in Ukraine. The President proposed to enhance bilateral coordination in order to resolve immediate issues related to reconstruction of the destroyed critical infrastructure.

The Head of State informed the U.S. President in detail about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and the global risks it can cause. The leaders concurred on the need to return the Plant under the Ukrainian control and provide for the IAEA access, consistent with the accepted modalities.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joseph Biden discussed strengthening sanction pressure on the aggressor state. “The free world must increase its pressure on the aggressor in order to force him to peace”, said the President of Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed the importance of ironclad support by the United States of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Particularly, in the context of impermissibility of arranging by the aggressor of any illegitimate referendums on the Ukrainian soil.

The interlocutors discussed First Lady Olena Zelenska’s recent visit to Washington, which helped to consolidate support for Ukraine.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 25 August 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Italian Republic Luigi Di Maio.

The Head of State thanked the Italian government and Prime Minister Mario Draghi, as well as the entire Italian society for supporting the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine.

“In recent months, we’ve built relations between our states, which helped Ukraine withstand the struggle for our independence. Italy became one of the leading states that supported Ukraine, our society, forcibly displaced citizens,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The President also thanked Italy for its financial and defense support.

The Head of State noted Mario Draghi’s leadership in supporting our country’s status as a candidate for joining the European Union.

“On the squares of the largest and even small cities in Italy, we have always seen our flags next to the Italian flags in support of our sovereignty and our candidacy,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President of Ukraine emphasized the importance of Italy’s leadership in the context of the preparation of the eighth package of sanctions against Russia. He also emphasized the need to introduce visa restrictions for Russian citizens.

“Separately, there is great political support from Italy within both the United Nations and our Second Summit of the Crimea Platform. I am grateful that the Prime Minister found time to personally support (the summit – ed.),” said the Head of State.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 25 August 2022.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva held a meeting with the delegation of the international inter-parliamentary network “United for Ukraine”, which included 30 representatives of the national parliaments of 13 countries – members of the EU, Great Britain, Norway and the European Parliament.

Ihor Zhovkva noted the important role of the association in promoting the foreign policy agenda of Ukraine in the societies and parliaments of the represented states.

“A striking joint achievement was the unanimous support of all EU countries for granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for membership in the European Union,” he emphasized.

The parties discussed in detail our state’s implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission necessary for the advancement of Ukraine on the way to EU membership.

“Implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission by the end of 2022 is quite realistic for us. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the team of the Office of the Head of State and all branches of government are united around this goal in order to move to the next stage in 2023 – the start of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Work in this direction does not stop for a single day,” Ihor Zhovkva noted.

He informed the foreign parliamentarians about the current security situation in our country as a result of full-scale Russian aggression. The Deputy Head of the President’s Office called for maximum efforts to increase the amount of weapons provided to Ukraine, which stands guard over European security.

Ihor Zhovkva thanked the represented countries for the high level of participation in the Second Summit of the Crimea Platform, which after a year of work expanded the circle of participants, the network of countries lobbying for the deoccupation of Ukrainian Crimea. This year, 60 representatives of states and international organizations from five continents took part in the summit.

“The deoccupation of Crimea and at the same time the restoration of civilized rules of the world order should become our joint story of success,” summed up the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 25 August 2022.

The negotiation process with Russia to end the war is now disadvantageous for both Ukraine and Europe, as any temporary truce would mean continued aggression by the Russian Federation in the future. Mykhailo Podolyak, Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, stated this in an interview with Bild.

“Today’s negotiation process will seal a temporary truce in a war that will not end. Accordingly, the Russian Federation will consider this a victory and will continue to claim to advance its expansionist policy. Therefore, the truce now will only mean the next stage of the war after a certain time,” he noted.

Mykhailo Podolyak also noted that in the event of such an incomplete end to the war, many of our citizens will not risk returning to Ukraine, and investments will not come.

“This will be a growing gray area that will constantly put pressure on Europe. Europe will be forced to constantly invest large amounts of money here in order to somehow maintain this territory in a viable state. This is not beneficial for Europe in the medium and long term,” says the Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

According to him, the negotiation process is not in the interests of Germany and other EU countries today, as it will provoke Russia to more daring behavior in the economic, political and diplomatic terms.

Mykhailo Podolyak noted that the quality of life is significantly reduced in Ukraine due to the war, and a certain deterioration will also be observed in Europe.

“But this is the price for such an intense war, unprecedented since World War II. And this war needs to be ended properly if you don’t want to pay all the time,” he emphasized.

It will be possible to start talks about negotiations with the aggressor state only when the last hope of the Russian Federation to defeat Ukraine by military means collapses, the Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President is convinced.

“Only after Russia realizes that it can no longer wage war,” he concluded.