Tag: 2022

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 22 March 2022.

As part of the negotiation process with the Russian Federation, Ukraine expects to reach an agreement on ending the armed aggression against our state and withdrawing Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. This was stated by Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak during a video meeting at the Royal Institute of International Affairs Chatham House (UK).

“I hope that these agreements will primarily provide for a ceasefire, withdrawal of Russian troops to the territory of February 23, 2022, as well as consultations and talks on other issues on the return of our territories, the return of full control over the territories within the internationally recognized borders to the Ukrainian authorities,” said Andriy Yermak.

In addition, according to him, such agreements should provide for the construction of a new security system for Ukraine.

“We want this war to end as soon as possible. To end with agreements solely in the interests of our country. To end with what we gained, not what we lost. To end with the fact that we gained a new security system. There is no more time to wait, to think. There is no more time to delay this decision,” said the Head of the President’s Office.

Andriy Yermak stressed that there can be no compromises regarding Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“We are ready to talk about any issues, we are ready to meet and these issues need to be addressed. You don’t have to ignore them. Both the issue of Donbas and the issue of Crimea. And above all the issue of ending the war and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. All this should be the subject of conversation. First of all, conversation between the President of Ukraine and the President of Russia,” the Head of the Office of the President noted.

He stressed that the Ukrainian delegation is working 24/7 to organize a meeting of the heads of state.

“Significant work is underway, in which, in particular, our partners are participating. Therefore, of course, negotiations and agreements are the shortest way to end the war,” Andriy Yermak summed up.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 19 March 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented state awards to soldiers of the special unit of the National Police of Ukraine KORD who perform important tasks in countering the full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

The President noted the courage and dedication of KORD fighters in saving people’s lives and ensuring law and order in Ukraine under martial law.

The law enforcement officers, who were awarded by the President, work diligently to identify enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups in Ukraine, respond to operational information on possible enemy actions, join the defense of administrative buildings of state importance and, if necessary, repel enemy forces.

“During the full-scale war against Russia, against one, as they say, of the most powerful armies, you prove yourself as powerful defenders of Ukraine,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during the ceremony.

The Head of State noted that KORD fighters perform important tasks to protect those in the rear and help our soldiers on the frontline.

The President wished KORD fighters and their families good health and victory.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 17 March 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held an online conference with representatives of the world’s leading investment companies.

He said that the Russian army continues to bomb Ukrainian cities, killing civilians and children.

“Today the whole world is talking about the terrible situation in Mariupol. The situation is not much better in Kharkiv, in the settlements around Kyiv. But Ukraine will never give up, will never give up its independence. And the army of a non-NATO country has stopped and continues to fight one of the largest armies in the world,” Andriy Yermak stressed.

According to him, negotiations with the Russian Federation to end the war are not easy, and it is very difficult to predict everything that the parties may eventually agree on. But there is definitely no compromise for Ukraine regarding its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Head of the President’s Office is convinced that Russia’s war against Ukraine has destroyed the structure of not only European, but also world security, and we need to build a new one, where our state will have one of the key positions.

Andriy Yermak also noted that after the end of the war, Ukrainians will rebuild their beautiful country very quickly. To this end, Ukraine plans to raise funds from international partners, as well as reparations to be paid by the Russian Federation.

He called on businesses to invest in the purchase of military bonds of the Ukrainian government, and responsible companies that have already left or are leaving Russia – to refocus on Ukraine in the future. Also, according to the Head of the Office of the President, it would be appropriate to consider the creation of special funds or individual programs for the restoration and reconstruction of Ukraine.

“The best answer to the inhumane acts we see now in our country will be the appearance of the most modern buildings and enterprises on the site of destroyed buildings, where Ukrainians will be able to work. And we hope that thanks to this, people who are now forced to leave Ukraine will quickly return to their homeland,” Andriy Yermak summed up.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 17 March 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a visit to the Vlasenko family, which got under the shelling by the occupiers during the evacuation from the town of Vorzel, Kyiv region.

The Vlasenko family moved to the Kyiv region from Crimea after the beginning of the Russian occupation of the peninsula, as they did not want to acquire Russian citizenship.

When Russia started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the family decided to leave Vorzel for a safer place, but the car got under enemy fire.

Then the eldest 16-year-old daughter Katya covered her younger 8-year-old brother Ihor with her body and received significant wounds. Seeing his sister bleeding, Ihor got out of the car and started shouting at the occupiers for what they had done. Mother Tetiana also suffered shrapnel wounds. Father Roman carried the wounded daughter in his arms to help her.

The mother and daughter will undergo treatment for several months, but they managed to save their family and survive.

During a meeting with the Vlasenko family at the hospital, Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted their solidarity, care and willingness to protect each other to the end, which saved their lives. The President wished the Vlasenko family a speedy recovery and expressed confidence that they would all soon celebrate Ukraine’s victory together.

“It cannot be otherwise when there are such strong families in our country,” the President said.

He presented a tablet for learning, flowers, sweets and fruits to the Vlasenko family.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also presented a toy to little Ihor, as the shelling hit the yard of the family house and the boy’s toys were damaged by shrapnel.

At the hospital, the President of Ukraine also spoke with other Kyiv residents undergoing treatment, a territorial defense fighter and the driver of the documentary journalist Brent Renaud who was killed in Irpin.

 

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 17 March 2022.

Immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine are among the key aspects of a peace agreement that could be signed as a result of negotiations with Russia to end the war against Ukraine. But strategically, our state wants to have a concrete mechanism that will guarantee its security in the future.

This was stated by Adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak in an interview for WP Wiadomości.

“Immediate ceasefire and immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine is one of the key aspects of the peace agreement. There is no other way. However, the negotiations are a large-scale process in which not only Russia and Ukraine are involved. Our partners also take an indirect part. Because we don’t just have to sign a treaty. We want to develop a concrete mechanism that will guarantee our security in the future,” he said.

Mykhailo Podolyak noted that the Ukrainian and Russian delegations are still defending their positions at the talks, so it may take some time to agree on the disputed issues. Unfortunately, the process is not as fast as we would like it to be.

“During this time, we must move closer to a peace agreement. First of all, taking into account the interests of Ukraine, which has suffered enormous destruction by the Russian Federation,” he stressed.

The Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office is convinced that after the signing of such an agreement, Russia will have no choice but to begin the immediate withdrawal of its armed forces from Ukraine.

“After the signing of the treaty, the Vienna Convention will enter into force for both parties. It makes it clear that a peace treaty can be annulled if the belligerent states do not withdraw their troops from the enemy’s territory. Therefore, any attempts to keep Russian soldiers on Ukrainian land will be legally groundless,” he explained.

Mykhailo Podoyak noted that in order to prevent Russia’s another violation of international law and treaties, Ukraine wants to spell out in detail a specific plan for the withdrawal of Russian troops, legally verify it and gain the support of international partners.

“Besides, it is foreign states that will guarantee the fulfillment of conditions and Ukraine’s security in the future. This will be a document that describes in detail the procedure in case of repeated aggression by Russia. This is an innovative formula authored by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which can become the basis for creating a completely new security system in Europe,” said the Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office.

In his opinion, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown that the entire architecture of European security must be revised. That is why our state wants to end this war with a new coalition, so powerful that it will stop Russia if it wants to attack someone again.

Theoretically, now is the time to speak publicly about all aspects of modern challenges and openly assess the level of modern security contours. Do they cope with these challenges? Can they protect European cities from the barbaric bombings that Ukraine is experiencing today? Will Europe be able to finally get rid of the fear of the Russian Federation? It is obvious that the countries that will be the new guarantors of security will undertake certain commitments. “In the future, on the basis of today’s global crisis, a completely new alliance will be created, which will ensure the security of the whole of Europe,” Mykhailo Podolyak stressed.

The Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office stated that Ukraine would not agree to compromises that could damage its interests in any way. And it is not for the sake of such compromises that Ukrainians are now dying on the battlefields willing to fight to the end.

“We are not Russia. We know how and will continue to have a dialogue with our society. And we always hear our society. Unlike Russia, we can discuss any issues that should have been discussed long ago, but we will not agree to any ultimatum,” he said.

Mykhailo Podolyak noted that despite the complexity of this process, Ukraine must hold negotiations with Russia, as no one else wants to fight together with our state. We just have to understand that negotiations during the war are just another frontline.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 17 March 2022.

As of March 17, nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed upon to evacuate residents of settlements affected by the Russian invasion. An information bureau for war prisoners has also been set up. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister – Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk.

In particular, an evacuation corridor from the city of Mariupol to the city of Zaporizhzhia has been agreed upon in the Donetsk region.

“We have asked for approval of this route and plan to send buses from the city of Zaporizhzhia to Berdyansk to gather people from Mariupol. We will also send a tank truck to refuel private cars on the route,” she said.

A number of humanitarian corridors are planned in the Kyiv region:

From Borodyanka to Zhytomyr.

From the village of Shevchenkove to the city of Brovary.

“We also plan to deliver humanitarian aid in the form of food and medicine to the cities of Hostomel and Bucha, the villages of Semypolky, Markivka and Opanasiv,” said Iryna Vereshchuk.

In the Kharkiv region, a humanitarian route from the city of Vovchansk to Kharkiv has been agreed upon.

According to Iryna Vereshchuk, work is underway to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to all settlements that are surrounded or blocked.

“We are stepping up our efforts to free captured civilians,” she said.

These include the release of Dniprorudne Mayor Yevhen Matvieyev, Melitopol District Council Chairman Serhiy Pryyma, Ivankiv Mayor Tetiana Svyrydenko, Shchastya Civil City Administration Chairman Volodymyr Tiurin, Skadovsk City Council Secretary Yuriy Paliukh and SES rescuer Oleksiy Danchenko.

Iryna Vereshchuk informed that in accordance with the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, the National Information Bureau was established on March 17.

“It is determined that the state enterprise “Ukrainian National Center for Peacebuilding”, which belongs to the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, will be a legal entity of public law and perform the functions of the National Information Bureau. We have informed the Red Cross through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the establishment of such a bureau and we hope that our work will be fruitful and productive for people, families who are waiting for their children to return home from captivity,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.

 

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

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a video conference with International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan who is on a visit to our country.

The President noted the importance of the decision of the International Criminal Court to start an investigation into Russia’s horrific violations of international criminal law during the invasion of Ukraine.

The President also thanked him for the visit to our country at this difficult time.

“It is very important for us during the war, during the aggression of the Russian state against our people, that you reacted so quickly, so professionally,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He assured that the Ukrainian authorities are ready to provide maximum assistance to the ICC investigation team, which began working in our country in March. The Prosecutor General of Ukraine and relevant law enforcement agencies are involved in this work.

“Everyone understands what is happening. There are already two thousand war prisoners, there are witnesses, there are video testimonies and everything they said without pressure. All those who took people’s lives for nothing on our land must be punished. We will cooperate with you at the highest level,” the President said.

He stressed that no war crime or crime against humanity committed as a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine should be left unpunished. Everyone guilty must be brought to international legal and criminal responsibility – from the perpetrators to the military-political leadership of the aggressor country.

Karim Khan, for his part, said that he had already had the opportunity to see photos and videos of the aftermath of the invasion and bombings in Mariupol and other cities – the suffering of people, including children and women.

“The law must now move forward and be used to protect these people,” the International Criminal Court Prosecutor said.

He stated that in order to support Ukraine in this struggle, a historically rapid unification of a large number of countries took place.

“They realized that the rule of law could not just live in universities and courts. It must be put into practice if we want justice,” Karim Khan said, adding that he looked forward to effective cooperation with Ukraine to receive information from all intercepted evidence in order to really get to the bottom of it.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that he was ready to do everything possible to facilitate the ICC investigation “so that all criminals could be brought to justice.”

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

The system operator of the Ukrainian power grid Ukrenergo, together with its European counterparts, has completed the integration of domestic and European energy systems. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“Ukrainian and European energy systems are already working synchronously,” the President said.

He reminded that on the night when Russia started the war against Ukraine, our state disconnected from the Russian and Belarusian energy systems and will never return.

“The enemy expected that the Ukrainian power system would collapse, that we would not be able to cope, so he seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, deliberately bombed and keeps bombing thermal power plants in Ukrainian cities and power lines. But the Ukrainian energy system has worked stably and steadily throughout the 21 days of the war, as recognized by Europeans. And starting from today we are no longer alone. As of today, Ukrainian electricity flows to Europe and European electricity flows to Ukraine,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to him, from now on the Ukrainian energy system has reliable energy reserves, which are located abroad, so it is protected from attacks by the invader.

“I am thankful to all the EU member states, personally to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson and dozens of people from Ukraine and Europe who worked day and night during these days of war, so that today we can say this: Ukraine is in the “energy EU”. We now have a single energy circulatory system from Lisbon to Mariupol. Ukraine is in the “energy eurozone”. We cannot be defeated,” the President said.