Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 5 October 2022.

The wife of the President of Ukraine Olena Zelenska paid a visit to the Republic of Poland, during which she held a meeting with the first lady of this country Agata Kornhauser-Duda, spoke at the Warsaw Security Forum and received the Knight of Freedom Award awarded to the Ukrainian people.

Olena Zelenska began her visit with a meeting with the First Lady of the Republic of Poland.

The wife of the President of Ukraine thanked her colleague for the unchanging position of Poland – clear messages of support for our country were heard during the speech of President Andrzej Duda at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Olena Zelenska noted that supporting Ukraine is an investment in the future for the whole world. She spoke about a new opportunity for such support – Olena Zelenska Foundation, which she recently presented in New York.

“This is a new way to participate in the recovery of Ukraine through the restoration of education, medicine or humanitarian aid. I will be happy to present all these directions in Poland,” she said.

The wife of the President of Ukraine thanked Agata Kornhauser-Duda for her personal assistance in the treatment of Ukrainian children in medical institutions in Poland and other countries.

The first ladies discussed a new format of cooperation between the two countries in the field of medicine – the exchange of experience between Ukrainian and Polish doctors in the field of providing care to patients with severe burn injuries.

“Such cooperation is extremely urgent, because as a result of the military aggression against Ukraine, we have a large number of victims with explosive and burn injuries,” said Olena Zelenska.

Together with Agata Kornhauser-Duda, the First Lady of Ukraine visited the Children’s Health Protection Institute in Warsaw, where evacuated Ukrainian children are being treated. It is not only a clinic, but also a research center. More than 7,000 surgeries are conducted here every year. The institute also hosts about a thousand students who are doing internships here. In addition, 400 children’s doctors of various specialties have the opportunity to study and exchange experience at the institution. The hospital also has a simulation training center where special devices teach how to conduct surgeries. Currently, 11 children from Ukraine are being treated at the Institute, the youngest boy is only four years old, but he is fighting cancer like a real hero and patiently follows all the doctors’ instructions.

Olena Zelenska thanked the employees of the institution and Professor Piotr Czauderna, whose efforts facilitated the creation of the Unicorn Hub in Poland for the evacuation of children from the West Ukrainian Specialized Children’s Medical Center in Lviv.

“This is an incredible rescue story. Throughout my visit to Poland, I express gratitude. And here I continue to do it. Our countries have incredible relations. And here I see a practical embodiment not only in helping, but also in saving our children. The evacuation process will be included in textbooks. Thank you to everyone involved,” said the First Lady.

During her visit to Poland, Olena Zelenska also spoke at the annual Warsaw Security Forum (WSF).

Olena Zelenska thanked Poland for the principled and broad support for Ukraine.

“I would like to urge everyone present here not to be afraid to take the risk of standing on the right side – as Poland is doing. After all, as I already said, this is a war of values. It is impossible forWe can’t let Russia set a precedent so that aggression becomes the way of solving problems in the world. We can’t make the rockets falling on residential buildings an acceptable argument for everyone. We can’t let nuclear blackmail become our usual life,” she emphasized.

During the Warsaw Security Forum, the President’s wife received the Knight of Freedom Award awarded to the people of Ukraine. This award is presented by the Casimir Pulaski Foundation to outstanding figures who contributed to the popularization of General Pulaski’s values: freedom, justice and democracy. This year, the organizers awarded the Ukrainian people who are resisting Russian aggression.

“There is a well-known Polish motto: ‘For our freedom and yours.’ Thank you for being with us. We know that you will be with us until the end. Until our victory and yours,” said Olena Zelenska.

The First Lady also met with Ukrainian temporary migrants in Poland and representatives of the Ukrainian community in that country.

“I am glad that you are right here, in Poland, in the country that first opened its doors to us when the Russian attack took place. Because this is a truly fraternal country that shares with us the biggest ordeal during this war,” she emphasized.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 5 October 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held another meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on Wednesday.

Those present heard information from the intelligence, the headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the commanders of the operational directions about the situation at the front and the latest actions of the enemy. They also discussed the issue of stabilizing the situation in the newly deoccupied areas. Plans regarding further liberation of Ukrainian territories were also considered.

Separately, the members of the Staff focused on the issue of countering new types of weapons used by the Russian army.

The parties also analyzed the urgent needs of the defense forces in material and technical support and the course of preparation of the troops for the winter period.

The meeting was attended by: Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhny, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Kyrylo Budanov, Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyi, Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov, heads of law enforcement agencies and security agencies, as well as Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, his deputy Roman Mashovets and Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov.

Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, commander of the Khortytsia joint strategic group of troops Oleksandr Syrsky, Commander of the West Operational Command Forces Serhiy Litvinov, Commander of the South Operational Command Forces Andriy Kovalchuk and commander of the Kherson joint strategic group of forces Oleksandr Tarnavskyi joined the meeting via videoconference.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 5 October 2022.

Dear Mr. Fabius!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I thank you for the opportunity to present our Ukrainian perspective on how law can guarantee peace. I will start with one example. An example, which demonstrates the need for a comprehensive legal response to aggression.

September 30 of this year. Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine. Morning – 7:10 am. The Russian army fires 16 missiles at the territory of the region and the city of Zaporizhzhia. Of them, 4 missiles are shot down by our air defense forces. 9 missiles hit one of the plants, the enterprise was destroyed. And 3 more Russian missiles hit the checkpoint on the road – the place where dozens of people were. Ordinary people in ordinary cars.

A total of 122 people were wounded that morning. 30 people died. Including 2 children. The girl was 10 years old. And the boy, he was 14 years old.

And this is just one Russian missile strike. A deliberate attack on civilians. A deliberate crime. This is one of thousands of strikes that have occurred since 2014, when Russia began its aggression against Ukraine, and since February 24 of this year, when Russia turned this aggression into a full-scale war.

You all know what is happening in Ukraine. All of you have heard about Bucha and Mariupol, about burned cities and tortured people. And I think many of you have read or heard words that explain very clearly why all this is happening.

I will quote these words now: “To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.” End of quote.

These are wise words. The words of people who saw full-scale war with their own eyes. They saw – and know that all war crimes begin with one original crime – the crime of aggression.

What is the missile strike at ordinary people in ordinary cars at a checkpoint somewhere in the middle of the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine? This is the crime committed by the specific Russian soldiers who launched the missiles. This is the crime of the specific commander who ordered the missile strike. And this is the crime of those who started the armed aggression against Ukraine, in the framework of which this and thousands of other similar strikes became possible. And also – in the framework of which the execution of civilians, the torture and execution of prisoners, the rape of women and children, airstrikes on ordinary residential buildings, the use of prohibited mines and ammunition became possible.

All the crimes of the Russian occupiers on Ukrainian soil can be investigated and the perpetrators can be brought to justice. All perpetrators!

But… We must bring to justice those whose decisions started all this. Those who committed the original crime. A crime in which all the evil shown by the Russian occupiers is concentrated. And we still do not have such an institutional basis to hold the Russian political and military leadership accountable for the crime of aggression.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Ukraine offers a real way to bring to justice the perpetrators of the original crime that spawned all other crimes committed since the beginning of Russian aggression.

For many years, the world has been looking for ways to prevent the recurrence of a full-scale war in Europe and to ensure the inevitability of punishment for war criminals, whoever they are, wherever they are and wherever they commit crimes against the basics of human life. Thanks to these searches and the efforts of many conscientious people, we now have, in particular, the International Criminal Court – one of the most important global legal institutions that ensures justice and protects humanity.

Ukraine fully supports the activities of this court. We accepted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over all events on the territory of Ukraine. We introduced changes in the legislation of Ukraine to simplify and make our cooperation with this court more effective. We are in constant and quite practical communication with representatives of the International Criminal Court in order to achieve the common goal of bringing the Russian occupiers to justice for the crimes committed by them on the territory of Ukraine.

I am grateful to all states and specialists who contribute to this work – with their financial, technical, analytical, legal and expert support. I am grateful to France, in particular, whose contribution is already tangible. And I believe that the International Criminal Court will be able to create a historical precedent of an absolutely legal response to the crimes committed by the Russian occupiers, as large-scale as the Russian war against Ukraine.

But for the original crime of armed aggression to receive a fair answer as well, we must supplement the activities of the International Criminal Court.

A Special Tribunal should be established for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. So that it can punish those who, unfortunately, cannot be reached by the International Criminal Court and all other available judicial institutions of the world.

You all know how the leadership of Russia, hiding behind false stories about state sovereignty, avoids fair responsibility for what it has done. We have to overcome that.

The draft of the corresponding international agreement for the establishment of the Special Tribunal was recently presented in Kyiv to diplomats from our partner countries. However, we offer this agreement not only to our partners, but also to everyone in the world who values international law and order.

I will give you another quote: “The charges in the Indictment that the defendants planned and waged aggressive wars are charges of the utmost gravity. War is essentially an evil thing. Its consequences are not confined to the belligerent States alone, but affect the whole world.” End of quote.

When we conclude an agreement and establish a Special Tribunal for Russian aggression, the very fact of preparing indictments and issuing arrest warrants for those who planned and ordered the beginning of this aggression will be the most powerful signal to all other potential aggressors in the world that war is inevitably punished, and the guilty are held accountable; that the law is always valid and the law always prevails; and humanity is guaranteed to be protected.

That is why we say that law can guarantee peace and justice. It can! To all. But only if we create the necessary institution.

And I invite France, in particular, your Constitutional Council to actively participate in the negotiations on the establishment of the Special Tribunal.

And one more thing. Something without which post-war justice is simply impossible. This is the compensation for all losses and destruction.

Already now, in October, we offer everyone who values international law to support a fundamental resolution at the UN General Assembly. A resolution confirming Russia’s international legal obligation to pay reparations for this war and recognizing the need for a compensation mechanism through which such an obligation can be implemented. The aggressor must fully pay for the cruelty and destruction he unleashed.

And although it is not easy in the case of Russia, it is quite possible. The corresponding order of legal steps is clear. We can present it to all interested parties.

And I will now add one more quote: “Crimes against International Law are committed by men, not by abstract entities, and only by punishing individuals who commit such crimes can the provisions of International Law be enforced.” End of quote.

Probably, you have read or heard these and other words that I have just given – they are from the verdict of the Nuremberg trials. The trials established by an international treaty. The trials that punished the perpetrators of the previous full-scale war in Europe and proved that justice exists in the world.

All of us who have studied jurisprudence have seen and analyzed this fundamental document – the Nuremberg verdict. And I am sure that there will be times when students who study law in the same way will be able to compare the text of the Nuremberg verdict with the text of the verdict that will be passed by the Special Tribunal regarding the crime of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. But not only. They will also study the experience of Russia’s compensation for all the losses caused by this war.

So, colleagues! Friends!

I invite all of you to participate in the establishment of appropriate legal institutions. Anyone who joins in restoring justice now will join in guaranteeing long-term peace for all of us in Europe and the world.

No chance for the guilty! No chance for aggression! Let the law prevail.

Thank you for your attention!

Thank you, France, for your support.

Glory to Ukraine!