Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 18 April 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy handed over a completed questionnaire for Ukraine’s obtaining of the EU candidate status to Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine Matti Maasikas.

“I want to thank you for this important meeting. Today is one of the stages for our country in joining the European Union, the aspiration that our people are striving for and fighting for,” he said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy reminded that the questionnaire was handed over to him by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during her visit to Kyiv together with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

The President of Ukraine noted that our country’s progress towards the EU is taking place at a very tragic time, when many Ukrainians who profess European values are losing their lives.

“However, the people of Ukraine are united by this goal – to feel equal, part of Europe, part of the European Union,” he said.

The President thanked Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel, Josep Borrell and Matti Maasikas for the prompt work on providing the questionnaire.

“It’s an important signal. We believe that we will gain support and become a candidate for accession. After that, the next, final stage will begin. We believe that this procedure will take place in the coming weeks and that it will be positive for the history of our people, given the price it paid on the path to independence and democracy,” the President said.

According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the government and the team of the Office of the President have prepared responses in a prompt manner, and work is already underway on Ukraine’s integration into the European Union.

“We are already integrated into the EU electrical grid. We are now continuing to work with the European Commission on the integration and joint network of free roaming and free payment space,” the Prime Minister said.

He noted that this work took place in parallel with the completion of the questionnaire for EU membership.

For her part, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishyna noted that the questionnaire is a “book of Ukrainian statehood.”

“All these changes that we have made, that we are fighting for now. It’s about human rights, the highest human values, the economy, the changes and transformations we’ve really fought for,” she said.

Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, stressed that accelerating the process of European integration of our country would be impossible without the heroism of the Ukrainian military and all our people.

“Therefore, I believe that this is a very powerful step for our victory,” Andriy Yermak stressed.

Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine Matti Maasikas said he also feels part of a team working to give Ukraine EU candidate status.

He noted that this process is taking place in a very difficult situation for the Ukrainian state, but everyone feels the importance and significance of this moment.

According to Matti Maasikas, Ukraine’s answers in the questionnaire will be analyzed very quickly.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked him for the fact that the EU Delegation had resumed its work in Kyiv.

“This is an important signal that the ambassadors are returning, we are glad to see you,” the President said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 18 April 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting to discuss the country’s post-war reconstruction and development plan.

The event was attended by Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Deputy Heads of the Office of the President, members of the Government, the leadership of the parliamentary majority and relevant committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

According to Denys Shmyhal, the post-war reconstruction plan consists of several parts, and international audit companies, Ukrainian think tanks, parliamentary committees and ministries have joined its development.

The plan envisages the restoration of Ukraine on new principles using all available resources and opportunities. In particular, it is planned to cover the material damage caused by the war, restore the destroyed infrastructure capacity and carry out structural modernization of the Ukrainian economy.

The participants also discussed the course of Ukraine’s European integration and obtaining candidate status for accession to the European Union.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 16 April 2022.

Escalation of Russian aggression and committing war crimes by Russia, including against civilians, reduce the chance for negotiations. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Ukrainian media.

“The stronger we are, the better the outcome of these talks will be. The more Borodianka-like cases appear, there will be no chance that negotiations will be held actually,” the Head of State said.

Zelenskyy is convinced that crimes against civilians and the Ukrainian military are a big mistake of Russians.

“The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol – what they are doing now – can put an end to any format of negotiations. I think it is their big mistake to say that they really want to end the war,” he added.

The President also said that Ukrainians and the world have already seen what the occupiers did to Bucha and Borodianka, but so far no one knows for sure the scale of the crimes in Mariupol, as there is no access to the city.

At the same time, according to Zelenskyy, negotiations are needed to defend the state and end the war. According to him, Ukraine constantly offered a meeting of the leaders of the two countries during the war, but the Russian side insists on organizing such a meeting only when final agreements are reached on all points.

The head of the Ukrainian state said that he did not consider such an approach correct. In his opinion, some points need to be prepared and agreed before the meeting with Vladimir Putin, but in the end everything should be agreed only at the talks of the leaders.

“I am in favor of a faster meeting with Russia. I don’t think it will be one meeting. I don’t think we can meet once and agree on everything, because there are a lot of issues, and I don’t see in some of them that they will take our version or we will accept their version,” Zelenskyy said.

In particular, according to the President, the issue of settling the status of the occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea remains open, as Ukraine and Russia have different understandings of the sovereignty of these territories.

“I think we need to talk about it. And find a model that may not give an answer to what to do with it today, but it will definitely allow everyone to become sober. At least them. When the fighting is over and the war is over, we can think of diplomacy. And they want to resolve issues diplomatically when there is a war. This is very difficult. And that’s why they want to take away some of our territory, to occupy more to put pressure. Then it’s not about diplomacy. And why do we meet? Why should I meet if they want to occupy the whole territory?” Zelenskyy said.

In his opinion, it is possible to speak without bias, in particular about the neutral status, only after the ceasefire and withdrawal of military equipment.

The head of state also said that the Russian side in the talks wants to sign a single document that would contain solutions to all issues.
“But all (other countries which are potential participants in the agreement) do not quite see themselves at the same table with the Russian Federation,” the President said.

According to him, other states distinguish between security guarantees for Ukraine and agreements with Russia.

“Russia wants everything to be in one document. And people say: they saw what happened in Bucha, circumstances are changing… And they less and less want to have any agreements with Russia. At the same time, they want to have agreements with Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.

Therefore, in his opinion, the outcome of negotiations to end the war can be two different documents: security guarantees from partner countries and a separate document with Russia.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 16 April 2022.

Ukraine needs the supply of various types of weapons from partner countries be accelerated, because the lives of Ukrainians and the further success of our country in the fight against the aggressor depend on it. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Ukrainian media.

The head of state said that the people of some countries, which were hesitant about the supply of weapons to Ukraine, began to put pressure on the government, and this allowed accelerating this process.

“From the moment they say that we (governments or parliaments) have decided to confirm the supply of weapons to Ukraine, to the moment when these weapons are already in our arsenal, in our army, two or three weeks may pass. This is a very long process,” Zelenskyy said.

The President said that in some parts of the front, in particular in the Joint Forces Operation area or in Mariupol, new weapons are required as soon as possible, and there is no time to wait.

“People say: we need help now, it is a matter of one, two, or three days, and people (from partner countries) say: everything is fine, we will give you in May. What they are counting on? That we will fight for months? Years of war? Some of them are probably counting on it. But for us, the acceleration (of the supply) of weapons is a very important moment,” the Head of State said.

Zelenskyy said that recently the rhetoric of some countries regarding the supply of weapons to Ukraine has changed in our favor.

“We have changed this rhetoric. Some changed it because of the pressure of the people… Because of this pressure, they also changed the process and unblocked the supply,” he said.

The President said that Ukraine receives weapons from other countries, but these weapons are still not enough.

“The United States, the United Kingdom, Poland and several other countries support us very well today. But they can do more, much more. And the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic support honestly and openly,” the President said.

Zelenskyy also expressed confidence that Ukraine will have no problems with the supply of new weapons.

“We will not have a problem with weapons, any weapons, upgraded one. This is the feeling I have judging the signals we had,” the President of Ukraine said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 16 April 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting on the restoration and reconstruction of housing infrastructure in the country that was destroyed or damaged in the war with Russia.

The meeting was also attended by Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and his deputy Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov, the leadership of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, well-known Ukrainian architects.

The head of state listened to proposals on solving problems with the construction of temporary housing in settlements affected by the war, in particular on the example of Kyiv region. For this purpose it is planned to build special modular towns.

It is expected that this will be high-quality, comfortable housing in which residents of the affected cities will be able to live for a long time, while the reconstruction of their homes or the construction of new housing continues.

Zelenskyy said that any projects to restore or develop housing infrastructure should be aimed at ensuring that Ukrainians return home. They must also provide opportunities to address the issue of providing permanent housing for the Ukrainian military, which is heroically defending our country.

In addition, the President studied a modern memorial complex project, which will tell the story of the world-famous destroyed bridge in the village of Romanivka, Kyiv region, connecting Irpin and Bucha with the city of Kyiv. According to the authors of the project, visitors to this complex will be able to immerse themselves in the atmosphere that prevailed during the evacuation in this place.

“It is important that we perpetuate this place. And people will be able to feel everything that happened here. It will be a monument to our path to victory,” the President said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 16 April 2022.

The Coordination Center for Humanitarian and Social Affairs established by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, headed by the Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, has reported on the results of its activities.

According to Yermak, the amount of charitable assistance received for Ukraine from citizens and corporations from around the world has now reached almost $924 million, and funds continue to flow.

“They go mainly to the accounts of the UN and international humanitarian organizations. And they, in turn, send them to help our refugees in different countries,” the head of the President’s Office said.

Most funds came from philanthropists from the United Kingdom (47%), the Netherlands (almost 18%), the Czech Republic (11%) and the United States (almost 8%).

Yermak stressed that Ukraine is grateful for the help of both world celebrities and all concerned citizens from different countries.

In particular, he said that the UK under the auspices of the Disasters Emergency Committee raised more than GBP 310 million. Queen Elizabeth II, the British government, film, theater and music stars have made their contributions. Famous Hollywood actress Mila Kunis, who was born in Chernivtsi, and her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, raised $35 million in the United States. They sent these funds to the Flexport logistics startup and Airbnb technology company. In France, EUR 8 million were raised by local television thanks to a charity concert of French stars. The First Lady of France, Brigitte Macron, also joined – she donated EUR 1 million.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President Yulia Sokolovska said that 270,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid had been imported to Ukraine in 50 days. Food was purchased from Ukrainian producers and meal kits were made for almost 10 million Ukrainians.

The SpivDiia information resource processes applications from the hotline to meet the specific needs of citizens. More than 48,000 applications have already been processed, Sokolovska said.

According to First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko, logistics centers have been set up on the western border with Poland, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and Slovakia in the first week, where international donors and partners send humanitarian aid.

Lviv region has become the largest hub of humanitarian support in Ukraine, receiving 51% of cargo from abroad.

Among the humanitarian hubs located across the country, the cargo is distributed among regional military administrations, charities, local governments, NGOs and volunteers, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said.

According to him, during the 50 days of the war, the whole country was united, and each non-frontline region helps the frontline region every day.

In addition, as Tymoshenko said, with the help of the convenient platform help.gov.ua people from all over the world fill out questionnaires every day and send assistance to Ukraine.

To resolve logistics issues, the Ministry of Infrastructure has a special logistics center, which includes Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukrposhta and other carriers.

According to the deputy head of the President’s Office, during the war Ukrzaliznytsia evacuated almost 4 million people by train free of charge. More than 1.3 million people from Kyiv and almost 500,000 from Kharkiv were evacuated. The total number of Ukrainians who traveled abroad by rail is about 500,000.

People from the blocked cities and cities, which are most difficult in terms of safety, were evacuated via safe corridors.

“Unfortunately, there was fire against civilians, but since the beginning of the war, almost 300,000 people have been evacuated from Sumy, Zaporizhia, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” the deputy head of the President’s Office said.

According to Svyrydenko, special attention is paid to the problem of fuel supply. From the first days of the war, the government agreed with the Polish Governmental Agency for Strategic Reserves to provide 20,000 tonnes of fuel as humanitarian aid. At the same time, an agreement was reached with the largest networks of gas stations on its dispensing through their gas stations to certain categories of recipients.

Sokolovska, for her part, reminded that people receive psychological help within the framework of the Tell Me program. There is also a web platform for the effective collection and processing of information on case of violation of human rights by the Russian Federation.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 16 April 2022.

The Group of Seven (G7) countries and the European Union should impose an embargo on Russian energy, as well as help Ukraine close its budget deficit amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of our territory. This was stated by adviser to the President of Ukraine on economic issues Oleh Ustenko in an interview with The New Yorker.

In particular, he said that even after US President Joseph Biden called genocide what the Russian army is doing in Ukraine, European allies are dragging their feet about an energy embargo on Russia.

“We are saying, Look, guys… You are stopping caviar exports. However, what can really harm this Russian military machine is oil. And nothing has happened with oil. We just had talks and talks and talks, and then nothing happened,” Ustenko said.

According to him, some European countries are, in fact, buying more gas and oil than they were before the war. However, he suggested that some countries may have been trying to build up their energy reserves in anticipation of an embargo that they think is coming.

The adviser to the President of Ukraine acknowledged that Germany and France, the EU’s two largest economies, had reduced their imports of Russian oil and gas since the war began, but noted that they are still buying large amounts.

According to Ustenko, Washington should exert more pressure on its European allies to join an energy embargo.

He also called on the United States and other members of G7 to provide more financial support for the Ukrainian government as it tries to pay for the war and maintain social spending for its population.

“The contraction in our economy is huge,” the adviser to the President of Ukraine said. “Fifty per cent of our businesses are not fully operational. Our budget revenues have fallen substantially, and our budget deficit has increased. This deficit has to be financed.”

Ustenko estimated the budget deficit at about $8 billion a month. According to him, With Ukraine effectively shut out of the international financial markets, he said, it can’t issue more debt to cover this amount. If the G7 provided fifty billion dollars in new financing, that would resolve the deficit issue for at least another six months, he said.

“We need extra financial support, including from the United States. Of course, the United States was very kind, providing us with weapons. But it is not enough,” the adviser to the President of Ukraine said.

However, Ustenko said that the first priority must be the immediate imposition of an energy embargo, because that is where Russia is most vulnerable. In this case, in his opinion, the moral argument should be at least as compelling as the economic one.

“If somebody is committing a war crime and a third party is giving money to the war criminal, then, for us in Ukraine, this third party is also in the cycle of committing the same war crime. Because the third party, with his money, is in the position of supporting the war crime,” the President’s adviser said.