Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on

After the rocket attack by Russian troops on Vinnytsia, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again called on Western countries to close the airspace over our country for Russian aircraft and missiles.

“I’ve just heard the report on the missile strike at Vinnytsia. 8 missiles. Against our city, against our peaceful Vinnytsia, which has never posed a threat to Russia. In any way. A brutal, cynical missile strike has completely destroyed the airport,” the Head of State emphasized in his urgent address.

The President stressed that the invaders continue to destroy Ukrainian infrastructure and residential buildings.

“We repeat everyday: “Close the sky over Ukraine!”. Close it for all Russian missiles, Russian combat aircraft, for all these terrorists. Make a humanitarian air zone. Without rockets, without air bombs. We are people and it is your humanitarian duty to protect us, protect people. And you can do it,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged.

“If you do not do that, if you at least do not give us aircraft for us to be able to protect ourselves, there can be only one conclusion: You also want us to be slowly killed. This is also the responsibility of the world’s politicians, Western leaders,” the Head of State added.

6 March 2022.

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

Special funds are being formed in Ukraine, the task of which is to rebuild our country after the destruction caused by the Russian aggressor. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his address.

“We have been fighting for 11 days. For freedom. For our state. We withstood. We already understand how we will rebuild our country. We are already forming special funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine,” he said.

According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in particular, the Fund for the Restoration of Destroyed Property and Infrastructure, the Fund for Economic Recovery and Transformation, the Public Debt Service and Repayment Fund and the Small and Medium Business Support Fund are being established.

“And many other programs to support our people. Heroes who fight for our state. And this is just the beginning. And now we still need strength,” the President stressed.

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

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with representatives of both chambers and both parties of the US Congress in the format of an online conference.

In total, more than 200 politicians joined the conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hear first-hand about the situation in Ukraine and ask questions.

The President spoke about the situation in the country, the course of hostilities. In particular, he focused on war crimes committed by the Russian army: the shelling of schools, residential buildings, kindergartens, churches. The Head of State noted that the Babyn Yar memorial was damaged by rocket fire, as a result of which civilians died.

Separately, Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised the issue of threats to the environment of Ukraine and Europe. According to him, the invaders pose a threat to chemical and nuclear facilities. They have already captured two nuclear power plants and are moving in the direction of the third – South Ukraine NPP.

“Cynicism is of such scale that they did not let firefighters into the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. We could not negotiate with uneducated people who are in the Middle Ages,” the President said.

He added that there are 15 nuclear units on the territory of Ukraine, each of which could potentially become the new Chornobyl.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy told congressmen that Ukraine needs security in the sky to protect civilians and critical infrastructure. This can be ensured by closing the airspace over Ukraine or supplying our country with Soviet-made aircraft from the countries that still operate them.

The President also called for further sanctions against Russia. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, additional effective sanctions would be an embargo on imports of all Russian products and deprivation of MFN status.

During the conversation, the congressmen asked Volodymyr Zelenskyy their questions and promised to provide all possible assistance to Ukraine.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 4 March 2022.

During the teleconference, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed residents of European cities who took part in a rally in support of Ukraine.

Rallies in support of our state and against the Russian invasion took place in Frankfurt, Prague, Lyon, Tbilisi, Vienna, Bratislava and Vilnius. In total, about 200,000 people took part in them.

Speaking directly from the Office of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that he dedicated the first minute of his speech to honoring the memory of all the perished Ukrainian servicemen, special service officers, police officers, reconnaissance officers, firefighters – “those who gave their lives, who are now among us, but we don’t see them anymore.”

“I want to dedicate a second minute to silence as well – in honor of our civilians: adults and children, dozens and hundreds of those who gave their lives but did not know about it. Gave lives and received eternal peace. I ask you to honor their memory in silence,” the President said.

The President dedicated the third minute to the people of Europe.

“Don’t be silent. Come to the streets. Support Ukraine. Support our freedom. Because this is a victory not only over the Russian military, it is a victory of light over darkness. This is the victory of good over evil. The victory of freedom over what is happening today in our country, on the territory of Ukraine. Do not be silent, support Ukraine. Because if Ukraine does not survive, the whole of Europe will not survive. If Ukraine falls, the whole of Europe will fall. And if we win – and I am confident in our people, I am confident in you – it will be a great victory of democracy, values, victory of freedom,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“Then moments of silence will turn into years of prosperity. Europe, be as strong as the people of Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine!” the Head of State emphasized.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 4 March 2022.

In the framework of the agreements reached during the Ukrainian-Russian talks on March 3, ways are being elaborated to resolve humanitarian issues, including the evacuation of people and the delivery of food and medicine to the victims of the shelling of the cities. Mykhailo Podoliak, Adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine spoke about this at a briefing in Lviv.

According to him, a working group has been set up, which includes representatives of Ukraine and Russia, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross as a mediator. They discuss how it is logistically possible to evacuate people from the affected settlements, as well as how to bring food and medicine there.

“I think that today, we will have a clear understanding, for example, as regards Mariupol, what will be the corridor there. Because about 200,000 people there want to be evacuated. In Volnovakha, about 20,000 people want to leave,” Mykhailo Podoliak said.

He stressed that the Ukrainian side has routing in all directions. This tripartite group is being finalized.

For his part, leader of the Servant of the People faction Davyd Arakhamia expressed hope that the agreements reached during the March 3 talks on the evacuation of civilians and the creation of humanitarian corridors will be observed.

According to him, the Russian side takes this negotiation process seriously and even speeds it up, as the current situation is very damaging to Russia’s image in the eyes of the world.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 4 March 2022.

Closing the sky over Ukraine for Russian aircraft will significantly change the course of the war and help resolve a number of issues, including humanitarian ones. Mykhailo Podoliak, Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office emphasized this during a briefing in Lviv.

He noted that the Ukrainian state will continue its work to ensure that our international partners make this important decision.

“The concept of the closed sky will significantly change the disposition of this war and help us resolve humanitarian issues, i.e. (stop – ed.) the shelling of major cities in Ukraine, and in principle return the Russians to a more or less adequate status. So that they understand that they must fight against the army, if we are already at war, not against the civilian population,” Mykhailo Podoliak said.

That is why he called on the Ukrainian and foreign media to focus attention and emphasize the need to close the sky over Ukraine.

“If we do not want to have problems with the civilian population to the extent that we already have, we must all talk about the need for the closed sky. So that there are no cruise missiles and strike aircraft in the sky,” the Adviser to the Head of Office of the President said.

Mykhailo Podoliak noted that if this issue is resolved, everyone will see in one or two days how not only the negotiating position, but also the situation in Ukraine will change significantly. In particular, there will be no panic among the population, because bombs will not fall from the sky. This will also help the Ukrainian military, as Russia’s ground operations are usually more predictable.

“Everything related to the closed sky – I want you to focus on this,” said the Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 4 March 2022.

The position of Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on negotiations with the Russian Federation remains tough: Ukraine will not make any concessions that could undermine our struggle for territorial integrity. This was stated by Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office Mykhailo Podoliak during a briefing in Lviv.

“President Zelenskyy will definitely not make any concessions that could in one way or another undermine our struggle, which is being waged in Ukraine today for its territorial integrity and freedom,” he said.

“Therefore, negotiations will be difficult. But they will continue,” Mykhailo Podoliak added.

According to the Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office, the Head of State clearly understands all the nuances and circumstances of negotiations with the Russian Federation.

“We are not just present at the negotiations or just listening to them. We understand what they want to achieve, why they think so and what their real situation is,” said Mykhailo Podoliak.

He stressed that Ukraine’s position in the negotiation process is significantly strengthened by our Western partners, as well as the success of the Armed Forces.

According to the Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office, when Russia planned a military operation in Ukraine, it expected that it would be very short, and the consequences in the form of sanctions would not be so significant.

“But today we have a long battle around many cities in Ukraine. We see that this is already a humanitarian catastrophe in the heart of Europe, and, of course, the package of sanctions that our Western partners impose on Russia today causes extremely significant consequences for them, which will last for a year or two or three, even if they are lifted today,” said Mykhailo Podoliak.

He noted that sanctions have already ruined the Russian economy, so the Russian side seeks to reach some solutions in the negotiations.

“It is clear that these decisions should be in the interests of Ukraine, because when they entered the negotiation process, it was one position… Today Ukraine is fighting as no one expected,” said the Adviser to the President’s Office.

He also stressed that the Ukrainian side is ready to continue talks at any time, and suggested that the next round of talks with Russia will take place in a few days.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 4 March 2022.

During the second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia, the parties reached an agreement on joint provision of humanitarian corridors. The Ukrainian state requests the International Committee of the Red Cross to take urgent action to organize humanitarian corridors and is ready to do everything necessary to evacuate the civilian population and deliver humanitarian goods.

Due to constant shelling by Russian troops, a number of Ukrainian towns and villages are on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe. Thousands of people are in urgent need of evacuation. These cities lack food, water, medicine, electricity and water.

Settlements in the areas of hostilities that require the creation of humanitarian corridors are located in Sumy region (Sumy, Shostka, Romny, Konotop, Okhtyrka), Chernihiv region (eastern and northern parts), Kharkiv region (all of the region except the south-eastern parts), Kyiv (Bucha, Irpin, Vyshhorod, Ivankiv, Vasylkiv, Borodyanka), Mykolaiv region (Bashtansky, Snihuriv, Bereznehuvatsky directions), Zaporizhzhia region (Tokmatsky, Berdyansk, Velykobilozersky directions), Kherson (Chaplynka, Kalanchak, Henichesky and Novokakhovsky directions), Luhansk and Donetsk regions (Volnovakha district, Mariupol district), etc.

“Ukraine has sent all the necessary requests to international organizations to create humanitarian corridors for the delivery of essentials and evacuation of civilians. Unfortunately, there has not been any consent of the Russian side so far. Today’s agreements on the results of the second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia give us cautious hope that we will finally be able to help our citizens,” said Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, member of the Coordination Staff for Humanitarian Affairs and social issues.

“Elderly people, women and children do not receive medical care, babies are born in basements and the first thing they hear in their lives is the sound of explosions. Civilians lack food and drinking water, many of them are people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Bringing them to dehydration, exhaustion, and suffering from a lack of timely medical care in the 21st century is nothing but torture. We very much hope that the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mr Peter Maurer will do everything to deploy work in the humanitarian corridors to save lives as soon as possible,” says Tetiana Lomakina, coordinator of actions on Humanitarian corridors from the Office of the President.

“During the 8 days of the war, 28 children were killed and 64 were wounded by the Russian occupiers. Maternity hospitals, kindergartens, schools were destroyed,” says the Adviser-Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Children’s Rehabilitation Daria Herasymchuk. “Nearly one and a half million children are suffering from shelling in the affected areas and they are under siege now. Among them, there are orphans and children with disabilities who need immediate assistance”.

The Ukrainian side is ready to ensure the transportation of people and the delivery of humanitarian goods. The Ukrainian Armed Forces guarantee safe passage of the corridor. Ukraine is expecting this from the Russian side.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 3 March 2022.

The invaders are creating a humanitarian crisis in the occupied cities of Ukraine, blocking Ukraine’s “green corridors” and thus forcing people to leave to the territory of Russia. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a conversation with representatives of the Western media.

“Humanitarian cargoes for food, drinking water, medicines, insulin, there are especially many appeals from retirees – they are constantly sent on. Entrances for our humanitarian cargoes in the occupied towns have been blocked,” the Head of State said.

According to the President, the invaders are deliberately blocking the “green corridors” so that their humanitarian goods can enter the city from the other side.

They also do not allow Kharkiv residents to pass through “green corridors” to other regions of Ukraine, but instead create conditions and corridors for our citizens to leave to the territory of Russia, said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“They say: ‘Here’s another green corridor’. Go to Russia. Come to Russia, we will give you food, water, no one will kill you there,” he said.

The President stressed that Ukraine will never ban or hinder the departure of citizens to Russia who decide to do so for rescue or other reasons. However, he stressed, Ukrainians do not want to go to Russia.

“I can’t force people to go to Russia. I can’t drive them with sticks. Many of them say: “We will not go there,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated.

The Head of State also noted that difficult living conditions are being created in the Russian-occupied settlements, which were unable to repel the attack in conditions when the invader significantly outnumbered them.

“Somewhere in some towns, they cut off electricity, take food from stores and then distribute stolen goods in the square to the people with the words: “There you go. We brought you the humanitarian convoy”. Cynicism,” the President summed up.