Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 2 October 2022.

As part of his visit to Turkey, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held a meeting with chief adviser to the President of the Republic of Türkiye İbrahim Kalın.

Yermak thanked the Turkish side for their active participation in the recent release of 215 Ukrainian servicemen from Russian captivity and expressed hope for Ankara’s further assistance in this matter.

During the meeting, Turkey’s key role in organizing the operation of the grain initiative and establishing the export of Ukrainian foodstuffs through the Black Sea was pointed out. It was noted that since its start, more than 250 ships with over 5.7 million tonnes of foodstuffs sailing to the countries of Asia, Europe and Africa have left Ukrainian ports. Hope for the further smooth functioning of the grain initiative to prevent a global food crisis was expressed.

The parties also discussed the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The Turkish side expressed its readiness to contribute to international efforts to prevent a nuclear threat.

The head of the Office of the President emphasized the importance of a tough reaction to Russia’s holding of so-called referendums on the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories and the adoption of an illegal decision on their annexation.

Yermak thanked the Turkish side for its principled position in supporting the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Ukraine and for its consistent position on non-recognition of illegal referendums.

The head of the President’s Office also emphasized the importance of Ukraine receiving reliable international security guarantees, in particular, even before our country becomes a member of NATO.

The parties also discussed the situation at the front, specific issues of Ukrainian-Turkish defense cooperation and support of national initiatives within international organizations.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 2 October 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with President of France Emmanuel Macron.

The head of the Ukrainian state thanked the President of France for his strong condemnation of the illegal referendums in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and Russia’s attempts to illegally annex these territories of Ukraine. The presidents agreed on the need for a tough, consolidated response by the world community to this latest crime by the Russian Federation, in particular via boosting sanctions pressure.

In addition, the leaders discussed the situation at the front and new successes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in liberating Ukrainian territories.

Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of enhancing defense support for Ukraine from France and noted Emmanuel Macron’s important personal role in this.

Touching on the topic of nuclear blackmail of the world by Russia, the presidents of Ukraine and France discussed the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP and once again emphasized the need for its immediate demilitarization. The parties separately drew attention to the illegal detention of Director General of the ZNPP Ihor Murashov by the Russian occupation authorities and called for his release.

In the context of the need to guarantee Ukraine’s security, Zelenskyy touched upon the issue of our country’s application for NATO membership.

The leaders discussed holding the summit of the European Political Community and an informal meeting of the European Council in Prague next week, which will serve as an opportunity for a joint assessment of the new acts of Russian aggression and finding relevant solutions.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 1 October 2022.

The response to Russia’s nuclear blackmail must be fierce and unequivocal, otherwise every dictator will scramble to obtain nuclear weapons, and al nonproliferation agreements will be worthless.

This is stated in the column of Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak published in the U.S. magazine The Atlantic.

Yermak draws readers’ attention to the fact that the Russians held fake referenda in sovereign territories of Ukraine the day before and recognized their results. In addition, losing on the battlefield in Ukraine, the Russian Federation began to threaten nuclear blackmail to force the Ukrainian state to abandon the fight for its people and its land.

“The response to Russia’s nuclear blackmail must be fierce and unequivocal, rejecting the very idea of making concessions to a nuclear aggressor. Otherwise, every ambitious dictator will scramble to obtain nuclear weapons, and every responsible nonnuclear nation will seek to acquire nuclear weapons for self-defense. Nonproliferation agreements will be worthless. Nuclear wars, with their millions of casualties, will follow,” Yermak said.

Therefore, according to his conviction, today the civilized world must demonstrate resolution and make it clear to the Russian Federation that it will not get away with either an attempt at annexation or nuclear blackmail. One of these decisive steps may be the conclusion of the Kyiv Security Compact, recommendations for which were recently presented.

“Earlier this month, I co-wrote a report with Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former secretary-general of NATO, offering a set of recommendations based on our consultations with an international group of experts. We called for the creation of a Kyiv Security Compact – a strategic partnership that unites Ukraine and a set of guarantor states,” the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine said.

According to him, the principle of operation of this agreement is simple: the security of Ukraine depends primarily on the ability to defend itself. To do this effectively, Ukraine needs long-term contributions from its allies. The Kyiv Security Compact is aimed at providing practical assistance to enhance Ukraine’s defensive capabilities.

“A core group of Ukraine’s allies, with significant military capabilities, would make a set of commitments that are both politically and legally binding. Alongside these commitments of military support, a broader group of international partners would offer a set of nonmilitary guarantees based on sanctions,” Yermak said.

He said that alongside these recommendations are not a substitute for Ukraine’s ambition to join NATO. But joining NATO will take time, and we need guarantees to protect Ukraine now.

“The Kyiv Security Compact would make clear to Russia that the cost of its aggression will continue to mount, until it becomes too high for it to bear. Helping Ukraine defend itself, survive, and ultimately prevail is the best investment our allies can make to secure a safer future for the whole world,” Yermak said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 1 October 2022.

Despite the statement of the authorities of the Russian Federation that it is ready for negotiations, it puts forward only ultimatums, so in such conditions the settlement of the conflict by diplomatic means is impossible, Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said in an interview with the Italian publication La Repubblica.

“Russia does not want to negotiate – it only launches ultimatums. If the Russian army leaves the entire territory of Ukraine, including Crimea, the negotiations could resume,” Podolyak said.

He also said that Russia’s announcement of the annexation of the occupied Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as well as the pseudo-referendums held in these territories, do not change anything for Ukraine. These regions were and remain Ukrainian, and the Ukrainian army will fight for their liberation.

“Referendums have no legal force under international law. And Ukraine is ready to do anything to return them. Our people ask us for this. These were farce votes, which they had no relation to. Those who went to vote were pointed at the gun and ordered: “Vote!” Therefore, our counter-offensives continue,” the adviser to the head of the President’s Office said.

Regarding Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons, Podolyak said: “The chances of a nuclear conflict are not high, but they do exist. And if the world, I mean the civilian part of the world, allows the complete collapse of international nuclear security, we will have catastrophic consequences not only for Ukraine.”

According to him, the global response to a possible nuclear attack will have to be taken within the framework of the EU and NATO.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 1 October 2022.

Russia’s attempt to annex the territories of four Ukrainian regions will in no way affect Ukraine’s resolve to liberate all its lands, Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said this in an interview with Politico.

“For our plans, [Russia’s annexation] doesn’t matter,” Podolyak said, adding the nation “should liberate all its territories.”

The adviser to the head of the Office of the Head of State also said that the mobilization recently announced by the President of the Russian Federation shows that Russia has run out of a professional army.

“This army is being replaced by absolutely untrained people. A living resource has been thrown onto the front lines, and it will simply be exterminated,” he said.

According to the adviser to the head of the President’s Office, it’s actually to Ukraine’s advantage that Russia has announced this mobilization.

“This shows the people of Russia that the country really is at war, that it’s not doing very well in this war, and that the Russians themselves will be the ones to pay the price,” Podolyak said.

In addition, in his opinion, the mobilization is prompting Kyiv to call for more weapons from its Western allies.

“For example, 100 more 155mm-caliber missiles would solve the problem, if you will excuse me for putting it that way, of additional human resources being utilized by Russia on the field of battle,” the adviser to the head of the President’s Office said.

U.S. authorities announced a $1.1 billion arms package for Ukraine, including 18 additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). Russia now has one card left to play in this war: nuclear weapons.

However, Podolyak considers its application against a non-nuclear nation to be absurd.

At the same time, the Ukrainian side calls on Western countries to unequivocally warn Russia of the consequences of using nuclear or chemical weapons. Podolyak wants for “very tough retaliation measures aimed at the destruction of Russia’s defense infrastructure” to follow.

Meanwhile, Ukraine “will keep doing its job” to liberate its territory, Podolyak said.

“We have no other options when it comes to ending the war properly. We can’t leave some enclave [under Russian occupation] or create a new dividing line,” he said, referring to the frozen conflict that followed Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the Donbas war in 2014-2015.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 30 September 2022.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 30 September 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen.

The head of state expressed gratitude to Denmark and personally to the head of the government for the effective defense, financial and humanitarian support of Ukraine from the very beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia.

The main attention was paid to the Kremlin’s decision regarding the attempted illegal annexation of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and the consolidated response to it by the entire free world.

The President said that the reaction of our state to this crime will be extremely harsh. In particular, he reported on the decision regarding Ukraine’s application to join NATO recently adopted at the meeting of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).

“We need to get through this as quickly as possible without a Membership Action Plan. As it was done for Finland and Sweden,” Zelenskyy said. He also emphasized that our state has always offered Russia to agree on coexistence on equal and fair terms, but this is no longer possible with the current Russian President.

The importance of the fact that Denmark does not recognize and categorically rejected the pseudo-referendums held by Russia in the occupied territories of Ukraine was noted. Denmark clearly stated this at the opening of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

The head of state said that the Ukrainian side is counting on the strengthening of EU sanctions and the speedy approval of the eighth package of sanctions, which should be much stronger than the previous ones. He also called on Denmark to recognize Russia as a terrorist state.

The parties discussed bilateral defense cooperation in detail. The President thanked for the provided material and technical assistance and expressed hope for stepping it up.

Zelenskyy and Frederiksen exchanged views regarding the continuation of Denmark’s assistance in accelerating Ukraine’s movement towards the EU and NATO.

The parties focused on issues of Europe’s energy security. The President congratulated Frederiksen on the official opening of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline, which became an important event in building security, strengthening the energy independence of the entire region and opening up additional opportunities for Ukraine. The recent incidents with the Nord Stream pipelines were also discussed.

The parties focused on the issue of reconstruction of our country. The head of state thanked Denmark for the decision to join the restoration of infrastructure facilities in Mykolaiv region. The President invited Denmark to actively participate in the implementation of the Ukraine Fast Recovery Plan.

On the eve of the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor, Zelenskyy appealed to the Danish side to recognize this tragedy as an act of genocide of the Ukrainian people.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 30 September 2022.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 30 September 2022.

A meeting of the National Security and Defense Council was held under the chairmanship of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The members of the National Security and Defense Council discussed the issue of another attempt to annex the territory of Ukraine and the escalation of armed aggression by the Russian Federation. The attendees heard information from Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Acting Head of the Security Service Vasyl Maliuk and Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Kyrylo Budanov. The participants of the meeting discussed ways of countering the attempts of the aggressor country to annex Ukrainian territories.

Head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko, Head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration Serhiy Hayday, Head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration Yaroslav Yanushevych and permanent representative of the President in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Tamila Tasheva informed the participants of the meeting about the so-called voting held by Russia in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. It was emphasized that numerous violations and manipulations with voters’ lists took place during the fake referenda.

In addition, the NSDC considered the issue of ensuring the collective security of Ukraine and the Euro-Atlantic space. The participants of the meeting listened to the reports by Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna and Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva.

The measures that must be taken to ensure the collective security of the Euro-Atlantic space and Ukraine were discussed. In particular, this is the strengthening and expansion of the international coalition in support of Ukraine, the increase of military and technical aid to our country, the strengthening of sanction pressure on Russia, the implementation of proposals to guarantee security in the international arena, the activation of the strategy of nuclear deterrence of Russia by the countries of the Euro-Atlantic space, as well as countering hybrid threats caused by the aggressor country.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 30 September 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and former Secretary General of NATO and ex-Prime Minister of Denmark Anders Fogh Rasmussen note that the conclusion of the Kyiv Security Compact will ensure stability for the whole of Europe and prevent the recurrence of war crimes. This is stated in their op-ed for The Wall Street Journal.

The authors remind that an international group of experts under their leadership developed and presented to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recommendations regarding such a security agreement. Its primary goal is to introduce such security guarantees that will make it impossible to repeat the events and crimes that are currently being committed by Russia in Ukraine.

“We call for the creation of the Kyiv Security Compact. The principle is simple: Ukraine’s security depends primarily on its ability to defend itself. To do this effectively, Ukraine needs long-term commitments from its allies,” the article states.

As Andriy Yermak and Anders Fogh Rasmussen noted, when the Ukrainian army gets the weapons it needs, it beats Russia on the battlefield. An example of this is the rapid liberation by Ukrainian forces of the Kharkiv region and the de-occupation of more than 6,000 square kilometers of territory in the south and east of the country since the beginning of September.

The authors indicate that the recommendations for the security treaty were developed on the basis of information and results of discussions with experts from all over the democratic world: former prime ministers, foreign ministers, high-ranking officials and academics.

“Everyone we talked to agreed that there should be no limits on the size and strength of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” they state.

The Head of the President’s Office and the former Secretary General of NATO emphasize that security guarantees do not change Ukraine’s aspiration to join NATO, which is enshrined in the Constitution. In the future, membership in the Alliance and the European Union will strengthen the security of Ukraine, and security guarantees will protect our state while it is on the way to these structures.

“Ukraine needs to develop and maintain an army capable of opposing the Russian armed forces and paramilitary formations. This requires great commitment from Ukraine’s allies. Our recommendations include permanent investments in the defense and industrial base of Ukraine, the transfer of weapons from NATO, the exchange of intelligence data and the intensive conduct of training missions under the flags of the EU and NATO. We must make sure that the price of a future attack on Ukraine will be too high,” Andriy Yermak and Anders Fogh Rasmussen emphasize.

One of the examples of how allies can strengthen Ukraine’s security in the short term and long term perspective is the provision of modern and effective air defense and missile defense systems.

“In order to protect civilians and ensure the recovery of Ukraine, the Allies should supply weapons that will make it possible to close the sky from air attacks. Taking into account the danger to the environment that such attacks can cause, the international interest is for Ukraine to be able to effectively protect its skies,” the publication emphasizes.

According to the authors of the recommendations, security guarantees should come from the main group of allies of Ukraine – those who have significant military potential and those who are ready to undertake both political and legal obligations. We are talking about the US, Great Britain, Canada, Poland, Italy, Germany, France, Australia, Türkiye, as well as the Baltic, Northern and Central European countries.

Along with military aid commitments, a set of non-military sanctions-based safeguards should be maintained by a wider group of international partners. In this case, we are talking about the G7 countries and the EU, as well as other states that currently apply sanctions against Russia, such as the Republic of Korea and Japan. The security guarantees should contain provisions on the automatic restoration of sanctions in the event of further Russian aggression.

“The Kyiv Security Compact is something else. It is focused on providing practical material support to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself. The launch of the Compact depends only on Ukraine and the guarantor states. This means that, unlike the Budapest Memorandum, Russia does not play a role in the guarantees and cannot block their application in the UN Security Council. In the event of an attack on Ukraine, the guarantors will meet within 24 hours and decide what measures to take within 72 hours,” the authors note.

“Putin must understand that the democratic world’s commitment to Ukraine will not waver, that his war is futile. Therefore, it is extremely important that Ukraine receives guarantees against the background of the ongoing war. Prolonging and postponing the process will encourage the Kremlin to continue the illegal war for as long as it takes to exhaust Ukraine and undermine its potential, regardless of its own losses,” said the Head of the Office of the President and former NATO Secretary General.

It is also important that these guarantees are a signal to the Ukrainian people that the Allies believe in a safe and independent Ukraine, where people can work, live, and raise families, in Ukraine at the center of Europe and the democratic world.

“For this to happen, Ukraine needs to win the war, as well as have everything necessary to defend its security in the long term,” summarize the authors of the material.