Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 8 April 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that the fight against Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine has become a factor that has united both the entire Ukrainian people and the European Union, which has united around the support of Ukrainians.

The atmosphere of dialogue and relations between Ukraine and the EU is now the best in many years, said the President during a conversation with media representatives after talks with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell in Kyiv.

“Unfortunately, I have to say that this is primarily due to the war. The war united Ukraine completely, united our people with authorities, that’s why Ukraine is so strong. Unfortunately, this war also brought many victims, and around this, to protect Ukraine and Ukrainians, it united the European Union. And the world in general,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.

The President is convinced that the answers to all questions in the relations between Ukraine and the EU will be found eventually.

“The most important thing now is for us to be united. And even when the leaders of certain countries slow down certain processes, the people of all European Union states – I see it and all Ukrainians see it – take to the streets, to the squares of European cities. These people united for the sake of Ukraine,” he said.

The Head of State stressed that today it is necessary to overcome the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation towards the people of Ukraine.

“And towards the people of Ukraine means towards the people of Europe as well, because we have the same values,” the President stressed.

According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the imposition of sanctions is a substantial diplomatic weapon of the EU against the Russian aggressor. Therefore, it is important for these measures to be not superficially but deeply elaborated, well thought out and completed, so that Russia cannot bypass them.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 8 April 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Eduard Heger who is on a visit to our country.

The President thanked the Slovak people and personally the Prime Minister of Slovakia for supporting Ukraine and providing real assistance in the form of weapons that strengthen our country’s defense capabilities in times of the Russian invasion.

“I want to thank the Slovak people and the Slovak Prime Minister not for the future, but for the present, for what they are doing for us during the war. Fully supporting us, our position, condemning the aggression of the Russian Federation not only in words, but also in deeds,” said the President of Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that he would not disclose details of this support and stressed that this was historically important assistance.

According to the Head of State, during today’s visit of Eduard Heger to Kyiv, the Prime Minister of Slovakia also held talks with Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, and many important issues for the future of our state were discussed.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Slovak side for supporting Ukrainians who were forced to flee their homes due to Russia’s military invasion.

For his part, the Prime Minister of Slovakia thanked the President and the citizens of Ukraine who are fighting for the ideals of freedom and democracy, defending European values.

Eduard Heger noted that the Slovak Republic will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine, because the successful struggle of our country is a success for the whole of Europe. In particular, he focused on the defense support for the Ukrainian state.

The Prime Minister of Slovakia also stressed the importance of establishing a fund for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 8 April 2022.

First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska addressed the participants of the conference on the new Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027), which took place under the auspices of the Council of Europe.

The address of the President’s wife was read by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Italy Yaroslav Melnyk.

In her address to the participants of the event, the First Lady of Ukraine noted the importance of universal protection of children’s rights. She said that due to a full-scale Russian attack on our state, Ukrainian children cannot exercise their rights.

“Since the beginning of the war, the Russian Federation has violated the inalienable right of every child – the right to life guaranteed by the UN Convention. Due to the attack of the invader, all the rights of Ukrainian children are now completely violated. Because it turned out that for Russia all these rights do not matter. Our children’s right to medical treatment has been violated, as more than 270 medical institutions have been damaged or completely destroyed. The right to education has been violated. Despite the Safe Schools Declaration, more than 300 educational institutions have been intentionally damaged or destroyed. And about four million – half of our children! – became displaced persons: they no longer have their usual home. What’s worse is that there are hundreds of children in Ukraine with whom we have no contact. We simply don’t know anything about their fate! They are with their parents in the cities occupied by Russians or for which fighting is taking place,” said the First Lady.

She announced a moment of silence for 165 Ukrainian children whose deaths were confirmed at the time of her speech.

Olena Zelenska thanked the Council of Europe, which responded immediately to the unjustified and unprovoked aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, and on March 16 completed the procedure for excluding Russia from the organization, in accordance with Article 8 of its Charter.

At the same time, the President’s wife stated that the skies over Ukraine were never closed to Russian planes: “From the very beginning of the war, we asked NATO to close the skies over our cities, over Ukraine. To prevent bombs and rockets from falling on people. We were not heard. Well, now I ask you to at least ensure the right of children to get out of danger. They need real humanitarian corridors, because now the enemy is shooting at civilian cars as well as at military ones.”

She also called on the participants to ensure, in accordance with the declared goal of “child-friendly justice”, an international investigation and punishment for all Russians who in one way or another have committed and continue to commit violence against children in Ukraine.

In conclusion, Olena Zelenska wished the audience, including children from different countries, that there would be no war in their lives.

“But to this end, you need to know about such a threat. The right to know is also an inalienable right of adults and children,” the First Lady concluded.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 6 April 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held a regular online meeting of a group of Ukrainian and international experts established under the auspices of the Office of the President to analyze the real impact of sanctions against Russia, provide proposals for strengthening existing and implementing new effective measures.

Andriy Yermak expressed confidence that the recommendations and advice of these experts will help build a system of sanctions in the near future that could help stop the heinous war waged by Russia against Ukraine.

“The war continues. Everyone saw the horrors that took place in the city of Bucha. And that means sanctions are not enough to stop Russia. Therefore, all of us and our partners need to work to ensure that sanctions are sufficiently destructive,” said the Head of the President’s Office.

Former US Ambassador to Russia and former US National Security Adviser Michael McFaul, co-ordinator of the international expert group, suggested focusing on sanctions on oil and natural gas, which is known to be the lion’s share of Russia’s exports.

“We must focus our efforts on sanctions against Russia’s oil and gas exports. The money of European consumers should not go to the state budget of Russia in order to further finance Putin’s terrible machine of destruction in Ukraine,” said Michael McFaul.

Rostyslav Shurma, Deputy Head of the President’s Office, added that work should also be done to recognize the Russian Federation as a sponsor of terrorism and to include it into the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to restrict trade with Russia.

He also noted that it is necessary to disconnect from SWIFT the entire banking system, including Sberbank and Gazprombank, ban land transport, including rail, prohibit ships from entering Russian-controlled territory, Russian ports, and ban transport that belongs to the Russians or carries out the transportation of goods of Russian owners from entering international ports.

Andriy Yermak also added that it is necessary to impose an embargo on the supply to Russia of any technology, equipment, minerals and ores, rare earth dual-use minerals and thus stop the production of weapons in Russia.

In addition, it is necessary to expand the list of sanctions against politically significant persons of the Russian Federation and members of their families.

According to Andriy Yermak, secondary sanctions are very important, i.e. inclusion in the sanctions list of legal entities and individuals of other countries that help the persons of the Russian Federation subject to sanctions to avoid restrictions.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 6 April 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with members of the Cabinet of Ministers and representatives of the Office of the Head of State on the implementation of the state budget for the current year and the introduction of an embargo on trade with Russia.

According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, in the first quarter the state budget was implemented by 110%. This was facilitated due to the results of the first two months of this year and advance tax revenues.

In the second quarter, according to the Prime Minister, a significant shortfall in Ukraine’s state budget is expected as a result of Russia’s military invasion.

The participants of the meeting discussed possible sources of filling the state treasury. In particular, it is donor assistance, special drawing rights from the IMF, etc.

In case of unfavorable developments, the possibility of temporary reduction of certain social expenditures starting from May is being considered. According to the participants of the meeting, in order to prevent the implementation of such a scenario, it is necessary to start the functioning of the domestic economy as soon as possible – both heavy industry and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The President instructed the government to formalize the cessation of Ukraine’s trade with Russia. In fact, import and export operations with the aggressor state were completely terminated with the start of the war.

 

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

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the Golden Star Orders to the servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who were awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine and the members of the families of the servicemen who were posthumously awarded this title.

The ceremony took place at the Mariyinsky Palace in Kyiv.

“We are in the place where the leadership of our state met with the leaders of other states before the war. This place is called the White Hall of the Mariyinsky Palace. I also had meetings with many leaders of states whom this war showed as friends and partners or vice versa. And from today I have the great honor to award the best here. You are the leaders for our state,” said the President of Ukraine, addressing the Heroes and members of their families.

He added that from now on this hall will be called the White Hall of Heroes of Ukraine and those who have been awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine will be awarded here.

“I am honored to see you here today. Unfortunately, I cannot see all those Heroes perished in the war, in the struggle for our independence against the Russian Federation,” the Head of State said.

“I want to thank everyone. I want to thank those who are not here with us today. Who are on the frontline, defending our country from the Russian occupier everyday,” the President added.

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

Even if Ukraine signs the most powerful security agreement, Russia may return. Therefore, it is necessary to build a state that will be able to defend itself. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview to the Ukrainian media.

The Head of State noted that all the points on security guarantees voiced after the talks in Istanbul remain unchanged.

According to him, during the negotiation process, the Ukrainian side, along with the so-called denazification, rejected Russia’s demand for demilitarization.

“We explained that the army must be in line with the army we have, which is able to defend our state. Then there are the details,” the President said.

“Even if we sign the most powerful agreement, we understand that in two years Russia may return. And if you and I accept this, then we act accordingly,” the President said.

In view of this, Ukraine will build a state that will be able to defend itself, as the Ukrainian side openly states at the talks.

At the same time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his conviction that Ukraine cannot fight constantly while other countries develop. That is why our state needs concrete security guarantees.

According to the President, everything depends on the guarantor countries, which must ensure the implementation of certain points.

“All this is being discussed at the level of advisers and leaders with France, the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Israel, and there are many friends who want to join. So far, we have not received a specific list of guarantees and a list of countries that are ready to join us 100%,” the President said.

“We do not need to have 40 countries of the world that are ready to join and fight for Ukraine under the agreement. We need serious players who are ready for anything. We need a circle of states that are ready to provide any weapons within 24 hours. We need individual countries on which sanctions policy really depends, so that these sanctions are deeply elaborated in advance. So that in the first second when we feel the threat from the Russian Federation, these states will unite and within three days introduce everything at once, block everything,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained.

According to him, representatives of some countries have already expressed a desire to become guarantors of security, but no joint meeting has taken place yet.

“They said they were ready to meet and talk about it. But I would like to emphasize once again that this meeting has not yet taken place in Ukraine. We are waiting for it. If this happens, there will be an understanding that we have certain security guarantees that provide for non-alignment,” the President said.

“So far, all of these guarantors are positive about Ukraine. But this is not enough. We already had such agreements and “papers”,” he added.

As for joining NATO, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine is ready to join the Alliance “already tomorrow”, even if Russia opposes it.

“If we are offered to join NATO tomorrow, if they don’t play with our lives again, but seriously offer, we will join. But this will not happen, unfortunately, and did not happen. That is why we will build those security guarantees that can protect us, protect people’s lives. We can protect ourselves anyway – we already understand that. But protecting all people is a more difficult task,” he said.

The President said that he would consider the preservation of Ukraine’s sovereignty to be the first victory in this war.

“Second, I really want us not to lose hundreds of thousands of people. Third, there can be no discussion that we will allow someone to call Crimea someone’s territory. This is our territory, Ukrainian territory. Postponing this issue is a compromise. And Donbas for me is Ukraine. And the fact that Russia has recognized ORDLO as something – we must find a way out of this situation. We, as Ukraine. Preserving the status of these territories as Ukrainian is very important for us,” the Head of State said.

In his opinion, the withdrawal of Russian troops to the positions of February 23, 2022 will be a victory.

“I understand where we are, who we are, what kind of country we are, what we have lost, what we can lose and what we have saved. I believe that repelling the full-scale war to the point where it began on February 24, 2022 is definitely a victory for us,” said the President.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that after the end of this war, the issue of security should be number one in Ukraine.

“I think all our people will be our great army. We cannot talk about “Switzerland of the future” – probably, our state will be able to be like this a long time after. But we will definitely become a “big Israel” with its own face. We will not be surprised that we will have representatives of the Armed Forces or the National Guard in all institutions, supermarkets, cinemas, there will be people with weapons. I am sure that our security issue will be number one in the next ten years,” the President said.

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

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that the issue of the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea should not be tied to the negotiation process with Russia to end the war and withdraw Russian troops from the territories of our state where they entered starting from February 24. This was stated by the President in an interview to the Ukrainian media.

He is convinced that resolving all issues in a package and thus ending the war with Russia is difficult and unlikely. Especially when there are tanks on our territory, rockets hit our cities, when there are difficult situations in blocked cities, such as Mariupol.

“Russia has its own vision of Donbas, and Ukraine has its own. So I had a simple suggestion. I believe that we will not be able to agree on all points at once. This is impossible, even if we have negotiations,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Responding to calls for the military liberation of all temporarily occupied territories, the President stressed that one of the most powerful groups of Ukrainian troops are fighting in Donbas, in the Joint Forces Operation area. They oppose the enemy, which significantly outnumbers them. And if you give them the command to go on the offensive now, it will cost thousands of lives.

“Our state needs a strong army. And if we want to lose the most powerful, most experienced people because “I want it now” we must understand that they will return to us (enemy forces – ed.), and not in two or three years, but in the same month. All the military know and think about it. This is a very serious story,” he explained.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that there is indeed a concentration of Russian troops in Donbas, and Ukraine is well aware of the goal and possible plans of the Russian Federation.

“Donbas, and the south of Ukraine, and the corridor to Crimea, and the Kherson region, and the Zaporizhzhia region… We basically understand what they are doing. In order for them to succeed, they will fight for Donbas. And Mariupol is a life for us, a city, and for them it is a “medal” that they want to hang on their chests,” he said.

The President noted that today the deoccupation of Mariupol by military means is very difficult. And its defenders, who are fighting in extremely difficult conditions, know this very well.

“We are in touch almost every day. It is difficult for them. They are very strong. It’s true. And it is difficult for different people in different ways. There are their wounded or dead brothers-in-arms. They would like their parents to receive the bodies of the dead, and they would like us to have an opportunity to take out the wounded,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

According to him, there is an agreement on this issue with Turkey, which is ready to transport the wounded and killed in Mariupol from Berdyansk.

“We have all the infrastructure ready to take out the wounded and dead. We are waiting for Putin’s approval. I talked to Erdoğan, Erdoğan talks to him. And now this moment depends on him. If we succeed, we will see the result in the coming days. If it fails, we will know for sure that the President of the Russian Federation personally does not give such an opportunity. Although everyone is putting pressure from different sides, because it is considered a humanitarian step,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The Head of State also rejected the possibility of returning the occupied Crimea by force. The President explained that Ukraine’s proposals in negotiations with Russia on Crimea do not mean that the topic of deoccupation of the peninsula will not be raised for 10-15 years. On the contrary, according to him, the agreement should stipulate that during this period the parties must resolve the issue of Crimea through diplomacy.

“The proposed format is not to solve it now, but to solve it at least tomorrow, during this period. I think this is not a bad decision. But I think so now. Today, if there were such agreements on Crimea, I believe this would be a victory for Ukraine,” the President said.

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

The central government has made great efforts to ensure that the heads of regional state administrations form joint teams with mayors and representatives of law enforcement agencies at the local level, and this has significantly strengthened the defensive position of our state. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview to the Ukrainian media.

“We must openly say that we were all working on it. Strongly, with calls, with screams. However, these teams have emerged. And their cities can be proud of them today, and there are no questions to them,” the Head of State said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that some mayors failed to demonstrate resilience during the war, but thanks to teamwork, they returned to full duty.

“We united these teams, many mayors came to their senses and started working in three or four days. And then they said: sorry, we were really just not ready. We talked in a human way, today everything is fine,” he said.

The President noted that many heads of regional state administrations have now become professional “war managers”.

“No head of the regional state administration ran anywhere. Honestly, I don’t think we had such a staffing approach. But it turned out that these people are just powerful. And they are all on the ground, all heads of regional state administrations,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

According to the Head of State, some leaders of territorial communities have shown themselves to be strong and courageous people and even gave their lives for our homeland.

“Unfortunately, we lost several of them. They were killed. They were tortured. After the war, we will sit down and at the regional level will tell how many calls with such people we had, how many things happened as it was. How they deceived the enemy, it was daily. “Several times we “buried” these people, took them out, then brought them in so that they could appear in the squares as a symbol for the people that they are there,” the President said.

He stressed that the mayors had become “flag people” who supported the inhabitants of the communities during the difficult times of the war.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that many business representatives also stayed in Ukraine and supported citizens and the military on a volunteer basis.

“I am very grateful to all these people, no matter what business they represent – small, medium, large. All the same, they are doing great,” the Head of State said.

However, he noted that there were also entrepreneurs who went abroad allegedly for the sake of one or another activity, allegedly for the sake of Ukraine.

According to the Head of State, Ukrainian oligarchs also showed various qualities during the war.

“They behaved differently. We will draw conclusions when we win. Someone suddenly became a hero, and someone ceased to be a strong man,” the President concluded.

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

Despite all the crimes committed by the Russian army against civilians in the suburbs of Kyiv, Ukraine must continue negotiations with the Russian Federation, as other Ukrainian cities are under occupation, where civilians are also blocked. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview for the Ukrainian media.

The Head of State noted that after exposing the crimes of the occupiers in Bucha, Irpin and other towns in the Kyiv region and realizing the scale of the tragedy, both Ukrainian authorities and citizens will see as a challenge even the possibility of negotiations with the aggressor, not to mention their content.

“Everyone understands that what they did is unforgivable. We need to know that,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.

Nevertheless, according to the President, it is necessary to find strength and continue negotiations.

“Every such tragedy, every such Bucha will just make it harder as regards any negotiations. And here we still need to find opportunities for such steps. We want to have a stronger position at these talks,” he said, noting that the support of Ukrainian society, which is also a powerful weapon, is important here.

According to the Head of State, the authorities should take into account not only the positions of the Armed Forces, but also those people who were blocked in places of active hostilities and temporarily occupied settlements. Then there will be no question of whether someone wants negotiations or not – the question of their necessity and the strength of the parties at the negotiating table arises.

“Just saying today that we will not talk about anything anymore is the easiest position. The easiest thing to say is that I will not talk to you, and it is clear why, after what you have done. The most difficult thing is to say what they did, to recognize them as enemies, to know that this is specifically Russia’s war against Ukraine. Admit it all. We believe that this is genocide, we believe that they must all be punished. But we have to find opportunities to meet. And at the meeting to find a way out of this situation and at the same time not to lose our territory,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.

Regarding the prosecution of all those involved in crimes against civilians in Ukraine, the President assured that the state is already working on it.

“We will definitely do that. Relevant lists will be compiled. We live in a civilized world, and therefore there is an order that will be ensured in accordance with law and international law. The day before yesterday, we agreed to set up a joint commission with the European Union,” the President said.

He said that he had discussed this issue with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, whose visit to Kyiv is expected in the near future.

“Prosecutors of different states, a joint commission will deal with all these crimes. There is a separate case of ours against these criminals who tortured our people. We are starting to gather this information. We will look for all these people,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy added.

To clarify how Ukraine will ensure that the killers are prosecuted, the President said that the commission has already been established, the Prosecutor General and a representative of the President’s Office will join its work.

“I do not see any more mechanisms. I believe that the internal Ukrainian mechanism, which my colleagues and I started talking about, will be very effective, because there are people who really want to find these criminals. I think we will find the right format. If international law does not resolve this issue, Ukrainian law will find a way out of this difficult situation, of this tragedy,” he said.

The Head of State also predicts that the amount of evidence and testimony about crimes committed by the Russian army against civilians will increase, as the liberation of other temporarily occupied cities of Ukraine is ahead.

“There will be no fewer of them, because Izyum is still ahead, there are many things we have no access to. Occupied Melitopol, Berdyansk. We have no idea what happened there. We’ll find this procedure. There will be an action plan. There are no secrets here, because we openly say: we will do it. It doesn’t make sense to keep secret how we will find these people,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy summed up.