Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 11 September 2022.

The creation of a tribunal on the crime of aggression is a matter not of the war in Ukraine, but of the maturity of the entire civilized world, which it lacked in 2008, when Russia came with aggression to Georgia, and in 2014, when the Russian Federation came to Crimea and Donbas. This was stated by Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Smyrnov during the panel discussion “Crime and Punishment – War Crimes, Genocide and Tribunal” at the 17th Yalta European Strategy (YES) meeting.

“I am deeply convinced that our competent authorities, the Prosecutor General, investigative bodies will bring every case of every war crime to its logical conclusion. The question that remains on the table all over the planet is the question of the courage to call international criminals international criminals. Before the mad dictators come with a territorial claim to each of your countries,” explained the Deputy Head of the President’s Office.

According to him, Ukraine is confident that there is currently no alternative to the special tribunal.

“We understand that we do not in any way overlap with the mandate and jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. We ask the world to create a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression. We urge the world not to be afraid to call a spade a spade. The crime of aggression is very easy to prove. All facts are documented both by Ukraine and international partners. The circle of people involved, in addition to Putin, is known to everyone. The proof mechanism is as simple as possible. There is no need to wait until the end of the war and the victory of Ukraine. It must be done today and now,” Andriy Smyrnov stressed.

The creation of the international tribunal was supported by President of Latvia Egils Levits. “The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court are already working on the crime of genocide. And Latvia supported this lawsuit against Russia. But we need a special tribunal that will make it possible to hold the Russian leadership accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. There are already precedents of such tribunals in the world: Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Cambodia, Sierra Leone. The most realistic way to create such a tribunal, in my opinion, is to sign an international treaty between the countries that support this idea. We are ready to sign such a treaty,” said Egils Levits.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin stated that the tribunal over the Russian leadership is not just a wish of the political leadership of Ukraine, but a demand of the entire Ukrainian society.

“The fact that Russia committed a crime of aggression against Ukraine cannot be disputed. The aggressor must be punished. Countries that do not support the idea of the tribunal probably hope for a post-war normalization of relations with Russia. But I declare with confidence that Ukrainians will not forgive this,” said Andriy Kostin.

British barrister, prosecutor in the case of Slobodan Milošević, Geoffrey Nice, noted that Ukrainians became victims of a terrible crime – the aggression of the Russian Federation.

“And like any victim, they have every right to demand justice. Therefore, it is our duty as judges, barristers and defenders of justice in all its manifestations to meet their demand. The fact that the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, unfortunately, does not extend to crimes of aggression is an absurdity, a relic of the past. However, this should not prevent the international community from fully holding Putin accountable. In my opinion, the creation of a special tribunal is the right decision. And I am sure that the whole world will support that,” Geoffrey Nice said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 11 September 2022.

The most effective and efficient damage to Russia and its military machine will be the recognition of the Russian Federation as a state – sponsor of terrorism. This belief was expressed by Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak during a panel discussion on the introduction and application of sanctions on the aggressor country, which took place in the framework of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) annual meeting.

Former US National Security Adviser, Ambassador Michael McFaul also took part in the conversation, which was moderated by chair of the editorial board of the Financial Times Gillian Tett.

As the Head of the Office of the President noted, since the beginning of the full-scale aggression, the Ukrainian authorities, in particular with the help of the International Expert Group on Sanctions Against Russia (Yermak-McFaul Group), managed to introduce extremely tough sanctions against Russia and its military and political leadership. Export control and restrictions in other areas were applied. However, this is not enough to stop the aggressor – the world must designate the Russian Federation a state that supports and finances terrorism.

“It is a very important issue that is facing us today and on which we are working very hard. Today, it is the so-called silver bullet for the Russian military machine – designating Russia a state – sponsor of terrorism. I think the next document, which we plan to publish soon, will deal with this very issue,” Andriy Yermak said.

According to the Head of the President’s Office, designating Russia a state – sponsor of terrorism by the United States will be an extremely powerful step.

Michael McFaul, who chairs the International Expert Group on Sanctions together with Andriy Yermak, added that the issue of designating the Russian Federation a state – sponsor of terrorism must be raised constantly. According to him, as long as the Russian army is in Ukraine, Russia must get new sanctions every day.

He compared the imposition of sanctions with parking fines: “If a car is parked incorrectly, it receives a new fine every day. The same goes with sanctions: as long as the Russian army is in Ukraine, Russia should receive new sanctions every day,” said Michael McFaul.

In this context, the issue of abandoning Russian energy carriers was discussed, which, according to Andriy Yermak, although difficult, has prospects for advance.

“Of course, it is not easy for our European partners. We feel it. But the plans for a gradual – but already with quite clear terms – abandonment of Russian energy carriers look very optimistic. There is such a goal, and they really have concrete plans,” said the Head of the Office of the President.

He emphasized the importance of implementing these plans as soon as possible, because today the main income of the Russian Federation and the source of financing the military machine is the export of energy carriers.

“As long as this war continues, as long as Ukrainians are being killed every day, sanctions are definitely not enough. Russia must feel even more every day that this war will cost it very, very dearly. All Russians must feel it,” said Andriy Yermak.

The Head of the President’s Office noted that this is not only about the top leadership of the country, but also about all citizens of the Russian Federation who support the aggressive policy of their leaders. Therefore, it is necessary to apply restrictions to Russians, in particular visa restrictions.

In addition, Andriy Yermak emphasized the inadmissibility of proposals to mitigate sanctions against Russian oligarchs in exchange for their financial donation to Ukraine. Michael McFaul, for his part, called the proposed financial assistance completely insufficient.

“At a time when we are appealing to our partners to increase sanctions, it will be unfair and wrong for us to talk about any mitigation. Do we see a slowdown at the front? Do we see that they have stopped killing Ukrainians? Does someone liberate our territories of their own free will, without the success of our warriors? I think we don’t see it,” said the Head of the Office of the President.

At the same time, he reminded that today many countries are considering the adoption of special laws that would allow the use of frozen assets, primarily of Russian oligarchs, for the benefit of Ukraine.

“So if they have a desire to somehow help Ukraine, they have an easier way: they can turn to the governments of those countries where they have frozen assets and hand them over of their own free will, without delaying the process in the courts,” Andriy Yermak summarized.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 10 September 2022.

Ukraine needs reliable and legally justified security guarantees that would work and protect our state from the repetition of such a full-scale aggression committed by the Russian Federation. This was emphasized by Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) Annual Meeting in Kyiv.

Together with ex-Prime Minister and ex-Foreign Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt and President of the Council on Foreign Relations (the United States) Richard Haass, he took part in a discussion panel devoted to issues of security guarantees for Ukraine. The discussion was moderated by Chair of the editorial board of the Financial Times Gillian Tett.

Yermak said that Ukrainians remember very well the Budapest Memorandum and other documents that did not protect our country from the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation, which has been going on for more than six months, and the war that Ukraine has been in for more than eight years.

“Therefore, first of all, these should be very clear, very effective and reliable legal guarantees. Today, Ukraine is an outpost of democracy and the struggle for principles, ideals, and freedom. And Ukraine deserves to have clear security guarantees after this war,” he is convinced.

Yermak said that our country has never given up its desire to become a member of NATO. In his opinion, today it is hard to find more reliable guarantees than those provided by Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

“And it seems to me that this war, the courage of our nation, the heroism of our soldiers should also change the attitude of NATO members towards the prospect of Ukraine’s membership. I think that strong players and partners always strengthen international organizations,” the head of the President’s Office said.

At the same time, he emphasized that Ukraine needs security guarantees already today and in the status in which our state is now.

According to Yermak, the group he heads together with former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is preparing the first document with recommendations for the future treaty on security guarantees for Ukraine.

The head of the President’s Office also drew attention to the fact that one of the mistakes the world made was not taking preventive steps that would have stopped Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

“That’s why today we put all this tragic experience that we gain every day into these security principles. We have a clear understanding of which sanctions work, which don’t work, and how quickly they start to work. We see exactly what we need to defend ourselves and how to strengthen our defense capabilities,” Yermak said.

The head of the Office of the President emphasized that an understanding of what security guarantees should be is being developed in real time. And they should be not only for Ukraine.

“As President Zelenskyy said, today the response formula in 24 hours is needed not only in Ukraine. Because this war showed that no one in the world can feel safe,” he said.

Yermak also said that security guarantees should extend to the entire territory of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders, and this is the fundamental position of our state.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 10 September 2022.

Currently, no negotiations with the Russian Federation regarding the end of the war are possible, since the Russian side cannot formulate any adequate positions. This was said by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, when he was taking part in a panel discussion at the 17th meeting of the Yalta European Strategy “Ukraine: Defending All Our Freedom”.

“We want to end the war, but the space and opportunities have changed. Society does not want to talk to terrorists. Although one can communicate even with terrorists, because they know what they want,” the Head of State said.

Zelenskyy emphasized that as for the Russian side, there is no confidence that they will keep their promises.

“I think they won’t. No one believes. You won’t shake their hands,” he said.

As the President of Ukraine said, first of all it is necessary for the Russian Federation to leave Ukrainian territories and stop behaving like a terrorist who started a full-scale war against our country. Then we can talk about diplomacy.

“In order for us to open a diplomatic corridor with them, they must show political will, that they are ready to give back foreign land. Then we can talk at least about some corridors that open certain diplomatic steps,” Zelenskyy explained.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 10 September 2022.

The winter period can be a turning point in the liberation of the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, but for this our army needs a systematic supply of the necessary types of weapons. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this while participating in a panel discussion at the 17th meeting of the Yalta European Strategy “Ukraine: Defending All Our Freedom”.

“I believe that this winter is a turning point, and it can lead to the rapid de-occupation of Ukraine. We see how they [occupiers] are fleeing in some directions. If we were a little stronger with weapons, we would de-occupy faster,” the Head of State said.

Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian military will only go forward, liberating the territory of Ukraine from the invaders.

“We are always ready to defend our land,” he said.

As the Head of State noted, Ukraine’s kind of counteroffensive began on February 24, when Ukrainian society united in the fight against the enemy and reconsidered its attitude to the homeland and native land.

“Everyone became one profession. This profession is a Ukrainian, the content of the profession is to survive. Therefore, this is our main counterattack. It has started, it is unchanged,” Zelenskyy said.

The President emphasized that Ukraine has no other way out than to defeat the aggressor in this war.

“All of us definitely believe in victory more than they [invaders], and that’s the main thing. Our main weapon is that we believe, know, feel victory,” the Head of State said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 10 September 2022.

Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak held a meeting with the former ambassadors of the United States of America to Ukraine, William Taylor and John Herbst.

Yermak thanked them for visiting our country and supporting us in this difficult and determinative time.

“We greatly appreciate what you have done and are doing. We know all about it – what a great job you do supporting us,” he said.

The head of the Office of the President said that in recent days there has been a lot of positive information about the situation at the front, so it is now extremely important that this successful process does not stop.

“For this, we need to know that we will continue receiving everything we need,” Yermak said.

He said that it was for this purpose that appropriate mechanisms were proposed so that Ukraine’s partners were as far as possible informed about the state of affairs in the war and the use of military assistance.

The head of the President’s Office is convinced that today the level of relations between Ukraine and the United States, from which our country receives the most help in this war, is the highest in all the years of independence.

For his part, Taylor said that he and John Herbst help Ukraine because they believe in our country and its citizens. Herbst expressed his belief that it is extremely important for the United States to be sure that Ukraine will win this war.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 10 September 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held a meeting with a delegation of members of the UK Parliament, which included representatives of four political forces: the Conservative Party – Robert Seely and Jonathan Djanogly, the Labour Party – Fleur Anderson, Liam Byrne and Stephen Doughty, Liberal Democrats – Richard Foord and the Scottish National Party – Stuart McDonald.

Yermak expressed his sincere condolences to the British parliamentarians with regard to the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

“We share your loss and grieve together with the people of the UK,” the head of the President’s Office said.

During the negotiations, Yermak briefed the delegation in detail on the situation at the front and the course of events. He said that the security support of our country from partners played an important role in the recent successes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, along with the commitment of Ukrainian defenders.

“The UK is our key ally. We highly appreciate all the help you provide to Ukraine in our struggle for freedom and democracy,” Yermak said, noting the importance of further intensification of such support.

Separately, the meeting participants discussed the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of our country, paid attention to the extremely important issue of the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war. In this regard, the Ukrainian side is counting on increased pressure on the aggressor from the international community.

Yermak informed the partners about the work that is being done to develop a mechanism for new security guarantees for Ukraine, without which stable peace in Europe and the world in general is impossible. The head of the President’s Office noted the importance of the key role of the UK in the future mechanism.

The issue of coordinating the foreign policy activities of Kyiv and London in certain regions, in particular in Latin America, was also raised.

“We will be grateful for support from the UK in strengthening and expanding the anti-war coalition,” the head of the Office of the President said.

At the meeting, attention was paid to the importance of strengthening macro-financial assistance, which should be facilitated by the intensification of joint work with international financial institutions.

Yermak also emphasized the importance of increasing sanctions pressure on the aggressor, as well as recognizing Russia as a terrorist state and said: “Russia behaves like a terrorist, it is a terrorist and should be officially recognized it.”

At the end of the meeting, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the UK parliamentarians. Among other things, the important role of the Ukrainian President’s address to the British Parliament early March this year was noted.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 10 September 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak met with representatives of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, founded by human rights defender Irwin Kotler. The organization is a unique international consortium of parliamentarians, scholars, jurists, human rights defenders, representatives of NGOs and students united in the pursuit of justice.

Yermak briefed the meeting participants on the struggle of Ukrainians for the independence and territorial integrity of their state and the mechanisms that our country uses to support this struggle from the side of the world community.

The Head of the Office of the President highly appreciated the work of the Centre and the expert report “An Independent Legal Analysis of the Russian Federation’s Breaches of the Genocide Convention in Ukraine and the Duty to Prevent” prepared by it.

“Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine against the Ukrainian nation, in particular by inciting it in the Russian mass media, carrying out the forced transfer of children and the killing of Ukrainians,” Yermak said.

He expressed his conviction that the international community must condemn the genocide of Ukrainians and bring all those responsible to justice.

Yermak emphasized the importance of recognizing Russia as a terrorist state, creating a tribunal to investigate the crime of aggression against Ukraine and crimes against prisoners of war.

The head of the President’s Office also said that after the victory, important qualitative changes and development await our country, so world support will be extremely relevant.

In this regard, Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre Jay Rosenzweig said that the donors of its foundation are interested in helping Ukraine, in particular, in the issue of reconstruction.

The head of the President’s Office called for joining the UNITED24 global platform to help Ukraine and support the events that are taking place on the initiative of First Lady Olena Zelenska – participate in them personally and involve famous people.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 10 September 2022.

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

It was attended by Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov and his deputy Rostyslav Zamlynsky, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny, Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Serhiy Shaptala, Commander of the National Guard Yuriy Lebid, Commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Khorenko, acting Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Maliuk, Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrsky, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov, Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak and his deputy Roman Mashovets.

Chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky, Commander of the West Operative Command Forces Serhiy Litvinov and Commander of the South Operative Command Forces Andriy Kovalchuk joined the meeting via videoconference.

First of all, the participants of the meeting listened to the reports of the commanders of the operative groups regarding the active actions of the defense forces to de-occupy Ukrainian territories. According to the results, appropriate decisions were made, in particular, regarding security in the liberated settlements.

Special attention was paid to the results of the fifth meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, which ended the day before. In view of the situation at the front, ensuring cooperation with Ukraine’s partners in the medium and long term becomes urgent.

The participants of the meeting also considered the situation with the logistical support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and determined the urgent needs of the defense forces of Ukraine.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 9 September 2022.

The Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Oleksiy Dniprov, held an online meeting with representatives of international and Ukrainian expert organizations who are part of the International Expert Group on the implementation of the National Youth Strategy until 2030 and relevant initiatives included in the action plan for the post-war reconstruction and development of Ukraine.

Dniprov congratulated and thanked the participants of the online meeting, who expressed their desire to jointly develop effective mechanisms for the implementation of the National Youth Strategy until 2030 in the conditions of the full-scale Russian aggression.

“I am sincerely glad to welcome you all to the meeting today, because this is the beginning of a large-scale youth history with regards to involvement and extraordinary significance for our country, which, despite the active and bloody resistance to the Russian aggressor, continues implementing reforms, modernizing and changing moving towards democracy, freedom and unity with the civilized European and the world community,” the deputy head of the President’s Office said.

For their part, international experts, in particular Howard Williamson, professor of European Youth Policy at the University of South Wales, thanked for inviting them. They assured of their readiness to share their knowledge and experience so that the activities of the expert group were as positive as possible for young Ukrainians who take direct part in countering the Russian enemy or were forced to leave Ukraine, saving their lives.

At the same time, international experts emphasized that the National Youth Strategy should take into account the impact of war and hostilities on young people, because these are completely atypical challenges and experiences that young people from European countries do not have, and these challenges require appropriate and coordinated work.

The expert on long-term strategies, Yevhen Hlibovytsky, said that the process of preparing the National Youth Strategy until 2030 was based on the principle of inclusiveness, primarily for young Ukrainians. That is why one of the priorities, atypical for the strategies of other European countries, is security. It provides for the creation of a safe environment in order to strengthen the resilience of young people. For the state of Ukraine, the principles of barrier-free and accessibility during the development and implementation of regulatory acts remain a priority despite large-scale Russian aggression.

The participants in the meeting agreed on the calendar of work and on the next profile meetings, which will allow to work out each of the priorities of the strategic document, as well as to propose new modern approaches to the implementation of the state youth policy.

The international working group brought together representatives of governmental, scientific, and expert circles from such countries as the United States of America, the UK, Poland, Lithuania, Georgia, North Macedonia, Albania, and Sweden.

Representatives of the Council on Youth Affairs under the President of Ukraine, government officials, members of parliament, volunteers, youth workers and the public, which directly participates in the development and implementation of state youth policy in Ukraine joined the group from Ukraine.

The online meeting was held at the initiative of the Council on Youth Affairs under the President of Ukraine and with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Office Ukraine.