Category: Press Releases

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

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi who will lead the agency’s mission to the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

The Head of State highly praised the arrival of the IAEA mission, as the situation around the nuclear power plant is escalating, and Russia, whose troops are illegally stationed at the nuclear power plant, is blackmailing the world with a new nuclear disaster.

“There are risks of incidents at the plant, failure of nuclear reactors and the disconnection of Zaporizhzhia NPP units from our network. There are Russian weapons at the plant. That is why it is a global threat,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

The President of Ukraine noted that the state leadership would like the IAEA mission headed by Rafael Grossi to find an opportunity to prevent all these threats.

“We trust your specialists,” he said.

“Zaporizhzhia NPP is located on the territory of Ukraine. It is and will remain the property of our state. This should be an axiom for the IAEA mission,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized, adding that the plant should be returned under Ukrainian control.

The Head of State emphasized the importance of immediate demilitarization of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

“The nuclear power plant is not the place where weapons and explosives should be stored. Existing risks can be eliminated only by demilitarizing the plant,” the President noted.

During the meeting, it was emphasized that Rafael Grossi is well aware of the situation around Zaporizhzhia NPP.

The interlocutors were also unanimous about the importance of an urgent visit of the IAEA mission to the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, since any incidents at it will not just affect Ukraine, but have global consequences.

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

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with US Senator, co-chair of the Ukrainian Support Group in the Senate Robert Portman and US Senator, member of the Ukrainian Support Group Amy Klobuchar.

Greeting the guests who are once again visiting our country, the Ukrainian Head of State noted: “This is an important signal of support for Ukraine and its territorial integrity. I would like to express gratitude for the bipartisan and bicameral support in the US Congress. I would like to personally thank President Biden and his administration for their constant work.”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed the Senators in detail about the situation at the front. In this regard, the President of Ukraine noted the importance of security assistance coming from the United States and the need for its continuation and increase. The President also emphasized that Ukraine provides reliable control over weapons and military equipment received from foreign partners.

Noting the leadership positions of the US in the comprehensive support of Ukraine during the counteraction to the Russian armed aggression, Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of intensifying financial assistance to our state. The President expressed his belief that the United States of America will continue to support Ukraine as a leader among all states that provide assistance to our country.

Separately, the President emphasized the need to strengthen the sanctions policy against Russia.

“These are big joint efforts. They yield results. Although they have not yet fully worked. There is a lot of work ahead. I expect that the sanctions pressure will increase. One of the elements of such pressure should be the introduction of visa restrictions for the citizens of the Russian Federation. So that the Russians feel the consequences of their own support for aggression against Ukraine,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

During the meeting, particular attention was paid to the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The President of Ukraine emphasized that Russia’s actions are a manifestation of nuclear terrorism and pose a global threat. First of all, it concerns the European continent.

“The Zaporizhzhia NPP must be demilitarized and returned under the control of Ukraine,” the Head of State noted, adding that in this regard, high hopes are placed on the IAEA mission.

During the meeting, the work carried out by our state was separately discussed, in particular in the format of the Group on International Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which is co-chaired by Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak and former Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

“Developing effective security guarantees is crucially important for our state today,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

The interlocutors also noted the importance of the recent visit to Washington by First Lady Olena Zelenska, which contributed to raising the awareness of American society and politicians about the consequences of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, as well as increasing support for our state.

The President separately emphasized the importance and effectiveness of ongoing cooperation between Ukraine and the United States at the level of Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov and United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak and US National Security Advisor to the President Jacob Sullivan.

At the end of the meeting, Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the Order of Merit of the 1st degree to the Senators, with which they were awarded by the Decree of the Head of State of August 23, 2022 for significant personal merits in strengthening interstate cooperation, support of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, significant contribution to the popularization of the Ukrainian state in the world.

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

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development should become one of the key participants in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, and our country’s membership in the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions will play an important role in strengthening anti-corruption policy. This was said by Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak during an event dedicated to cooperation with the OECD.

The event is held in the context of strengthening cooperation between Ukraine and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the desire of our country to become a member of the OECD. During the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which took place on July 4-5 in Lugano (Switzerland), the Prime Minister of Ukraine handed over to Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Mathias Cormann our country’s application for membership in the OECD.

A prerequisite for this is joining the Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions as a full member. The government of Ukraine submitted an application for joining this group on August 2 of this year.

Andriy Yermak, who heads the group on approaching membership in the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions, emphasized that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is a unique intergovernmental center of knowledge and a powerful player on the international arena, whose opinions and conclusions are listened to by the European Union, the IMF, the World Bank, the EBRD, the USA and the G20.

The Head of the President’s Office noted that the OECD is participating in the development of the Recovery Plan for Ukraine.

“The experience and capabilities of the Organization are extremely valuable, even unique for post-war reconstruction. Therefore, the OECD should be one of the key international players during the reconstruction of Ukraine,” he said.

According to Andriy Yermak, today Ukraine is fighting for its future, and therefore transparency in relations with other states, which is the basis of trust, is of particular importance.

“We are doing everything to increase trust in Ukraine. Every Ukrainian is fighting on his own front: the Armed Forces, volunteers, doctors, rescuers, civil servants. The entire Ukrainian nation. But we understand that trust is a phenomenon that must be nurtured all the time. And we are working on it,” said the Head of the Office of the President.

He emphasized that post-war Ukraine should become attractive for investments, and that is why our state institutions should inspire confidence among investors.

“It is important for us not just to rebuild Ukraine. Our goal is to build a successful and comfortable country. With a dynamic and extensive economy according to the best world standards, with improved legislation,” he noted.

According to Andriy Yermak, our state is working on strengthening anticorruption institutions, because the fight against corruption is one of the fundamental values for Ukraine.

“That is why the status of a candidate, and then membership in the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions is extremely important for us,” he emphasized.

OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, for his part, noted that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development stands with Ukraine and is determined to help together with international partners in the post-war reconstruction of our country.

He emphasized that the OECD is ready to help Ukraine so that corruption risks do not stand in the way of the reconstruction process.

The Secretary-General said that the OECD has been extremely active in cooperating with our country since 2014, in particular helping build institutions. And in the last report of the Organization, which came out in May, significant progress in Ukrainian anticorruption legislation was noted.

Mathias Cormann emphasized the importance of efforts to increase transparency in the public sphere, in particular, in the issue of avoiding conflicts of interest and ensuring integrity. Also, according to him, it is extremely important to protect anticorruption bodies from attacks.

The Secretary-General of the OECD noted that he was extremely pleased to receive Ukraine’s application for participation in the OECD Working Group, the process of joining which brings our country closer to the standards of the Organization and the UN Convention against Corruption.

He emphasized that the submission of the application is a confirmation of the determination of the Ukrainian authorities to advocate anticorruption reforms and adhere to OECD standards.

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

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko held a working meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Great Britain to Ukraine Melinda Simmons.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko told the Ambassador about the online platform, which contains up-to-date data on every object in Ukraine damaged by the Russian invasion.

He emphasized that it is extremely important to rebuild social infrastructure and housing before the start of the winter period. According to him, the Fast Recovery Plan provides for the restoration of schools, kindergartens, utility networks, as well as private houses of citizens, so that they can return home as soon as possible.

According to the Deputy Head of the President’s Office, the largest number of facilities in need of reconstruction are in the de-occupied territories of the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions.

“We divided the regions into four types: the first – occupied territories, the second – de-occupied territories, where there are the most problematic objects now, the third – territories affected by missile strikes and so on,” he said.

As Kyrylo Tymoshenko noted, Ukrainians are already returning home, and the first thing they need is housing with an undamaged roof, windows and necessary utilities.

Therefore, as he said, in parallel with the Fast Recovery Plan, a project for the construction of five-story buildings in six regions of Ukraine has been developed for people who lost their homes as a result of the Russian invasion. A square meter of such housing will cost about 700-800 US dollars.

The Deputy Head of the President’s Office noted that, according to the data of sociological studies, about 70-80% of Ukrainians are ready to return home even despite the threat of missile strikes, if they have a place to live and in the absence of ground advance of enemy troops.

He also emphasized that the reconstruction of at least part of the social infrastructure facilities in one or another community will encourage people to return, as they will see that restoration work is being carried out.

For her part, Melinda Simmons noted the importance of restoring educational institutions and providing them with shelters equipped with everything necessary.

The Ambassador also noted that Great Britain is interested in participating in the reconstruction of the rest of the housing and communal facilities and critical infrastructure of the Kyiv region that were destroyed as a result of the war.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 29 August 2022.

The international working group on security guarantees for Ukraine, co-chaired by Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak and former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is about to complete the work on a document with recommendations on future security guarantees for our country.

At the third meeting of the group in video conference mode, Andriy Yermak emphasized that the dream of security guarantees for Ukraine is consistently turning into a plan with clear time frames.

“We are entering a new phase of this brutal war. Against the background of the events unfolding in the frontlines, it is time for our partners to take new decisive steps to guarantee Ukraine’s further security. These guarantees should form a new security order on the European continent and prevent a new war in its heart,” he is convinced.

The Head of the Office of the President noted that due to the joint efforts of the group members, a high-quality comprehensive project of recommendations was created in less than two months of work.

According to him, this document covers a wide range of guarantees: military, economic, political, sanctions. After the preparation of the final version, the document will be submitted for consideration by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“With its publication on the Presidential Office website, our diplomacy will receive powerful assistance in the context of negotiations with the governments of allied and partner states,” Andriy Yermak emphasized.

The Head of the Presidential Office believes that future security guarantees should become part of legally binding documents, in particular, treaties between Ukraine and the guarantor countries.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the updated (second) draft recommendations take into account key comments received from the previous group meeting.

“You will also be able to see that the main focus in this draft is more focused on the first part – defense guarantees, which are the basis of our recommendations,” he noted.

At the end of the meeting, Anders Fogh Rasmussen informed the meeting participants that former Minister for European Union Affairs of Türkiye Volkan Bozkır became a new member of the group.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced the transition to the Group’s work in a co-chair format with personal bilateral consultations with some members on specific issues.

Andriy Yermak and Anders Fogh Rasmussen thanked everyone present and noted that the final version of the recommendations on security guarantees would be provided to the group members before publication.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 29 August 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that today it is difficult to predict the possible dates of the expulsion of the Russian invaders from Ukraine, but the stronger Europe unites around Ukraine, the sooner the victory over the aggressor will take place. The Head of State said this during a conversation with the participants of the Strategic Forum, which is ongoing in the city of Bled (Slovenia).

“The Ukrainian people have every right to fight for their territory and land within internationally recognized borders. I believe this is a great willingness, but for us it is a great and the only fair struggle,” he said, answering questions from forum participants.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the return of the occupied territories can take place in different ways, and Ukrainians are aware of this.

“I’m not ready to predict when it will happen. I don’t have the exact dates, but I have the exact understanding of how we will do it,” the President noted.

The Head of State emphasized that now Russia is not really determined to hold negotiations on ending the war, as it communicates only in terms of ultimatums, demanding from Ukraine recognition of the occupation of our territories.

“Both sides must strive for negotiations. All this is another public lie of the Russian authorities. They are not ready for negotiations, they do not want that. In their understanding, negotiations are an ultimatum, we must recognize that Donbas and Crimea are Russian territories. They are already saying that Ukraine must recognize the south of our state as Russian territory after they hold another pseudo-referendum there,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President emphasizes that Russia will be ready for negotiations only after it feels the power of the world uniting in support of Ukraine.

“They (representatives of Russia – ed.) will definitely offer it to us as soon as they see a force in the world that supports Ukraine. We have already seen it in Ukraine. Now the united Europe also sees it, as it is rallying around Ukraine. So, the stronger we are and the longer we can stay together, the sooner justice will prevail,” the Head of State said.