Tag: 2023

The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 4 March 2023.

Dear Ukrainians, I wish you health!

The meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Ukraine has just ended in Lviv. It was a very representative gathering today. There were heads of central and local authorities, representatives of government authorities and local communities. From all over our country – all regions, all parts.

The main issues are security, energy, social protection, financial issues. Anti-corruption. All that is needed for greater strength of our institutions and for greater security of our people – in every sense of the word “security.”

It was agreed today that already in March the Cabinet of Ministers will prepare the decisions our communities need for budget sustainability. Relevant changes to the law on the state budget of Ukraine will be proposed to the Verkhovna Rada.

Today, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the State Anti-Corruption Program at its meeting, which was actually combined with the Congress meeting. These are systemic steps that will give the state more transparency, and society – more opportunities to interact with the state.

The United for Justice conference, which started yesterday, continues here in Lviv. Several panel discussions took place today, including the investigation, punishment of the occupiers for abuse of people, rape, and other violent crimes committed in the occupied territory. The world is already helping us with these investigations. But, of course, much, much more needs to be done. Not only to identify all criminals, not only to punish them but also to help people who have been abused to overcome this blow and return to a normal life.

The First Lady of Ukraine, President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, the First Lady of Latvia, the special representative of the UN Secretary-General, and our government officials took part in the relevant part of the conference. A very meaningful discussion.
Together with Ms. Metsola, today we met with Ukrainian students from six Lviv universities.

I also held talks with the President of the European Parliament. It is obvious that this year our cooperation with European institutions will be even more meaningful than last year. The task is to actively prepare everything for our country’s EU membership, increase the supply of weapons to Ukraine, and strengthen sanctions against Russia. And I thank Mrs. Roberta Metsola, and all our friends in Europe, who help Ukraine on the integration path.

Thank you to everyone who helps enhance the security of Ukraine and strengthen our soldiers! Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine, who defends our border and who establishes justice for Ukraine with their accuracy on the battlefield, who responds to the occupier’s terror with active fire.

Today morning, I was in touch with the commanders: the front is the first priority.

I will especially note the fighters who defend Bakhmut. In particular, soldiers of the 56th separate motorized infantry brigade, the 67th and 93rd separate mechanized brigades, and the 77th separate airborne brigade. Thank you, guys! Glory to all Ukrainian heroes!

Thank you to Lviv for this fruitful time in the city. Thanks to the Lviv Polytechnic, where we are now and where we held our Congress.

Thanks to Franko University, where a meeting with the students took place. I am grateful to everyone.

Glory to Ukraine!

The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 3 March 2023.

Dear Ukrainians, I wish you health!

Today in the morning – in Lviv, was a very busy day. Meetings, negotiations, the United for Justice Conference dedicated to the restoration of justice for Ukraine. Now Lviv, all of Ukraine have attracted the legal vigor of all of Europe and our other partners.

Representatives of the countries of the European Union and European institutions came to the Conference. In particular, the European Commissioner for Justice, the head of Eurojust. And also representatives of the UK and the United States.

Attorneys general and justice ministers of various countries are in Lviv today. The President of Latvia, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Netherlands, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia – active lobbyists for justice – are our special guests, and I held separate negotiations with them today.

The main issue of all these meetings and the Lviv conference is accountability. The accountability of Russia and its leadership is personal! For aggression and terror against our state and people. And when there is their accountability, justice will be restored.

We are gathering as much as possible support for the Tribunal over Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. For the draft of our resolution on the protection of international law, which will be put to a vote in the UN General Assembly. We are doing everything to ensure that the International Criminal Court is successful in punishing Russian war criminals. And that our national law enforcement and judicial institutions ensure fair sentences for all Russian murderers and executioners.

A separate meeting with the attorneys general of partner states and international institutions was very fruitful. We see the protection of the rule of law in the same way.

Negotiations with the foreign ministers of the Netherlands and Estonia were also fruitful.

The negotiations with the President of Latvia, who today, by the way, visited Ukraine for the third time during the full-scale war, went very well.

We also signed an important bilateral declaration with our Latvian counterpart. The declaration that enshrines justice at the political level. Latvia fundamentally supports the full integration of Ukraine into the European Union and NATO and will defend this position at all levels.

So, today is a really fruitful day.

And what is very important – this day began with honoring the heroism of our soldiers. In the morning, I visited the Lviv hospital, where our soldiers are being rehabilitated after wounds. I had the honor to communicate with the soldiers and present them with state awards.

I also presented awards to doctors who save the lives of our soldiers.

Together with the President of Latvia and the first ladies of our states, we honored the memory of fallen heroes at the Field of Honor at Lychakiv Cemetery.

And I thank all partners of Ukraine. I thank every leader, every politician, every public figure of the helping states – for understanding the price that the Ukrainian people pay for their freedom and that of all Europeans.

Every day, Ukrainian heroes give their lives to stop Russian aggression.

And that is why the world has a clear moral obligation to our soldiers, to each and every one who is currently in battle and who defends freedom.

This duty is to restore justice and bring the terrorist state and its leadership to justice. And it will be.

Today, we have someone to celebrate for success on the battlefield.

I thank the soldiers of the 27th Pechersk Brigade of the National Guard, who are fighting near Donetsk. They are skillfully destroying enemy equipment.

I’m thankful to the anti-aircraft guns of the Air Force – they shot down another Russian bomber. The Nikopol anti-aircraft missile regiment. Keep it up, warriors!

I thank the soldiers of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, 79th Separate Air Assault Brigade, marines from 35th Brigade, gunners from 55th Artillery Brigade…

The decent repulse of the enemy now is a prerequisite for the success of our defense operations in the coming months.

I thank the soldiers of the 128th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade and the First Tank Brigade, who are defending Zaporizhzhia region. Well done, guys!

And of course, I thank each and every one of the Khortytsia task force, who defend Bakhmut, who persistently and bravely performs combat tasks.

Glory to all who are now fighting for Ukraine!

Thank you to everyone who brings the victory of our people and the historic sentences to the organizers and perpetrators of Russian aggression closer!

Eternal memory and respect to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine and the salvation of our people!

Glory to Ukraine!

The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 2 March 2023.

I wish you health, dear Ukrainians!

A brief report on the day.

I have just spoken with the President of Brazil. It was a useful conversation. We are resuming contacts between our countries at the highest level.

I informed him about Russia’s attacks against our people, about the killing of children, about the strikes on our civilian infrastructure.

I thanked Brazil for supporting our resolution on peace and territorial integrity for Ukraine.

We discussed diplomatic efforts to stop Russian aggression and restore peace for our country, the region, and the world.

In particular, international efforts to implement our Peace Formula.

Today I also spoke with the President of Switzerland. This is our first conversation with the new President.

I thanked him for the support package for Ukraine and our people. We discussed further bilateral cooperation and possible interaction on international platforms.

I heard that Switzerland is interested in implementing our Peace Formula. This is a very good signal.

I held a meeting of the Staff, which focused solely on the frontline and security situation.

The Commander-in-Chief made a general report. There was an intelligence report.

Detailed reports from specific combat areas, from the commanders of our groups of troops.

Khortytsia Operational and Strategic Group of Troops – key attention to Bakhmut.

Tavria Operational and Strategic Group of Troops – discussed the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia directions. General Tarnavskyi delivered a detailed report.

Today’s brutal Russian missile attack on Zaporizhzhia will face our military and legal response. The occupier will inevitably feel our strength. The strength of justice in every sense of the word.

And I want to thank all our rescuers who have been clearing the rubble of the house whose block was destroyed by the missile since the night before.

They managed to rescue 11 people, and more than 70 received help.

Two people are currently on the list of those killed. My condolences to the families!

Odesa Operational and Strategic Group of Troops – a report about the situation in the southern direction. In particular, the situation in Kherson and the region.

Of course, we do not ignore the north of our country, the border.

Commanders are well aware that their task is to do everything possible to suppress terrorist fire. And we are constantly working with our partners to increase the range of our capabilities.

Today, I signed several decrees awarding our warriors. In total, 847 defenders received state awards on this day.

Soldiers of our mechanized brigades, tankmen, artillerymen, marines, intelligence officers, Air Force, Special Operations Forces, territorial defense, the National Guard, the National Police, border guards, SBI and SES employees.

As of today, the number of our defenders whose bravery and efficiency have been recognized with state awards is over 40 thousand. I thank everyone who defends our country!

I am grateful to all those who daily accustom Russia to the idea that Ukraine cannot be broken.

We will endure. We will win. And we will bring all Russian terrorists to justice.

Glory to our warriors!

Glory to Ukraine!

The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 1 March 2023.

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

Today I held several fundamentally important meetings.

The meeting on the energy sector was attended by everyone who is responsible for the stability of our energy system. It was a long meeting – three hours.

Energy companies: Naftogaz, Energoatom, Ukrenergo, Ukrhydroenergo, and others. The Government. The Office. The head of the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada. Military. Intelligence.

This winter is over. It was very difficult, and every Ukrainian without exaggeration felt this difficulty. But we still managed to provide Ukraine with energy and heat.

Yes, the threat to the energy system remains. But the work for the sake of the energy system is also continued.

At the energy meeting, we have set the current tasks to ensure that this heating season is completed properly. And we have already started preparing for the next season – each of the meeting participants has received their part of the work in this regard. We see risks, we will find a response.

Today, I also held a long, detailed conference call with all those who are in charge of various areas of state defense. The military, the Security Service, the Main Intelligence Directorate, foreign intelligence, the MIA, other government officials, the Office.

We keep each frontline direction under control. Khortytsia, Tavria, Odesa, North – there were reports on the situation over the past day.

In addition to the frontline directions, we are also paying attention to the frontline areas. Those cities and districts that are subjected to Russian shelling every day and night. To a deliberate terror. Nikopol and other communities of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and the region, the frontline part of Donbas, Kharkiv and the region, Sumy and Chernihiv regions.

Now, in most of the territory of our country, where we have managed to provide relative security, you may not feel what life is like for those of our people who live in the border areas with Russia, who live in the south of our country. Where there are shelling occasions. Where people are not at the front, but still directly at war. Where Russia is constantly trying to destroy everything that people have. Constantly – and this is no exaggeration.

When we are preparing the actions of our military, all our defense and security forces, we also mean that such actions will gradually return security to those who are now in the frontline zone.

Every movement of our flag forward will mean the safety of our people. In the territories that will be liberated from the occupier. In those territories that will become a deeper rear. And in those border areas where the defeat of the invader will finally bring peace.

I am grateful to everyone who is ready to help our country in further active actions! I thank each and every one of our defense and security forces who is already preparing!

And I thank those who, despite all the threats, despite all the dangers, are doing everything possible to ensure that normal life is maintained in the frontline areas of Ukraine, in cities and communities that are subjected to Russian attacks! These are the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, police forces, our social and administrative services, local authorities, conscientious businesses, and of course, volunteers who help people and the state.

Special thanks to our border guards and all other warriors who are holding back the enemy! And particular gratitude to our warriors who are destroying the occupiers’ firing points, destroying the enemy’s logistics and accurately leading Russia to defeat.

To inevitable defeat.

Glory to all those who are now fighting for Ukraine!

Eternal memory and honor to each and every one who gave their lives for the independence of our country!

Glory to Ukraine!

The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 28 February 2023.

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

Today is the day when, in various formats, we worked for justice for Ukraine and Ukrainians in one way or another.

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan is on a visit to Ukraine. These are an institution and a person who undoubtedly play a historic role in bringing Russian criminals to justice.

Russia’s genocidal policy against our people will definitely have inevitable legal consequences for all those who conceived, approved and implement such a policy. And I want to emphasize: this isn’t only about the executors, but also about the top political and military leadership of the terrorist state. Today we discussed this with Karim Khan during a meeting in Kyiv.

Of course, this is not an easy job. But responding to Russian crimes in the face of this aggression exactly in terms of the rule of law and exactly with the power of an international court is what will serve as one of the guarantees of the long-term future security of both Ukrainians and other nations. We will ensure this.

We are approaching the opening of the Ukrainian office of the International Criminal Court. There is already effective cooperation in Ukraine between the International Criminal Court and the Office of the Prosecutor General. We pay special attention to such Russian crimes as the deportation of our people and the deportation of Ukrainian children. We will dismantle this entire Russian genocidal system, from the cogs to the architects, and bring them to legal verdicts.

Today, I held a regular meeting of the Staff. Again in an expanded format. The Main Intelligence Directorate, the Ministry of Defense, the Commander-in-Chief, and the commanders of directions delivered reports. We are dealing in detail with the situation on each of the frontline directions.

The most difficult situation is still Bakhmut and the battles that are important for the defense of the city.

I’ll give you just one example. Nowadays, the meetings of the Staff are held quite often – at least twice a week. The last meeting was on Thursday. And today, General Syrskyi reported that since the last meeting, about 800 enemies have been killed in his direction alone.

Russia does not count people at all, sending them to constantly storm our positions. The intensity of fighting is only increasing.

I thank all Ukrainian warriors who, despite this insane pressure from the occupier, are defending our positions and destroying the Russian army! I thank each and every one who supports our warriors!

Of course, we also considered other areas in Donbas, as well as the areas of responsibility of the Tavria and Odesa groups. General Moskalyov reported on the situation around Kherson and the region. This day there were more than 30 Russian shelling occasions in the Kherson region! They were shelling just streets, just people. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones. Today we have already lost four people. We will do everything to suppress the terrorists.

General Nayev reported on the situation in the north and along the border – our forces are in control of the situation.

As always, we reviewed in detail the logistics for the frontline and the coverage of deficits.

We are preparing for the return of our warriors to actions for the liberation of our land. We keep in mind this just goal of ours, and every day we are getting closer to its fulfillment. Ukraine will be free. All of Ukraine.

Today I met with the Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This is one of the most powerful global organizations that brings together the world’s leading countries. Those countries where people really want to live.

Our goal is for Ukraine to fully join the organization and to use the OECD experience to modernize our country. Tomorrow we are opening the OECD Office in Kyiv.

Today we talked, in particular, about a fair tax system for Ukrainians – transparent, simple, and one that will strike a balance between stimulating business and economic growth and ensuring social justice.

I also offered the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to join the work on directing Russia’s assets to compensate for the damage caused by Russian aggression.

If someone thinks that this is an unrealistic task, today, on February 28, we have very concrete evidence that there are no unrealistic tasks for Ukraine.

A year ago, on the fifth day of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine applied to join the European Union. This was the first step in obtaining the candidacy. We have done a tremendous and tremendously fast job and have secured candidate status for Ukraine. This year, we should reach a decision on membership negotiations for Ukraine.

Another example. Today, there was no shortage in our energy system. There were no power outages across the country. Thousands of people have been working every day to achieve this result. They restored what could be restored after the Russian strikes. They protected the energy system. They helped cities, communities, and people.

Of course, the threat still remains. Of course, we will fight and defend ourselves. We will definitely endure, no matter what the enemy does.

I thank each and every one who contributed to this task!

One more thing.

Today is the Day of Air Navigation Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is the day of those specialists of our defense forces on whom the effectiveness of Ukrainian combat aviation directly depends. Thousands of successful sorties and successful air strikes on enemy positions are their merit, the merit of our navigators.

I congratulate you, warriors, on your holiday, and wish you complete dominance of the Ukrainian Air Force in the Ukrainian sky! Absolutely fair dominance.

Glory to each and every one who is now fighting for Ukraine!

Thank you to everyone who helps!

Glory to Ukraine!

The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 27 February 2023.

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

A brief report on this day.

The day began with an attack by Iranian drones. Most of them were shot down. Eleven out of fourteen.

Unfortunately, there were also hits. Three employees of the State Emergency Service in Khmelnytskyi were wounded, two were killed. My condolences to the families. The second drone hit just as the fire was being extinguished after the first hit.

In fact, that is why we need the aviation component of air defense – modern combat aircraft – to protect the entire territory of our country from Russian terror. Air defense is complete only when it is backed by aviation. Modern aviation.

Our pilots, together with our anti-aircraft gunners, together with all the warriors and specialists of our Air Forces, are already doing a great job. But we will be able to fully protect the sky when the aviation taboo in relations with our partners is lifted.

The elimination of consequences of the power grid accident in Odesa and the Odesa region lasted all day. There was a large-scale power outage, but the power supply was restored within a day.

As of this evening, all critical infrastructure and the vast majority of consumers have electricity. I am grateful to all power engineers and repair crews who ensured a quick result.

Ukraine demonstrated and will continue to demonstrate that our resilience is higher than anyone’s expectations.

Today, I held several meetings with representatives of the government and security agencies. In particular, a meeting with Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Malyuk. We discussed current issues and our steps to protect the state in the near future.

We will not leave any chance to any internal threats, just as we don’t leave it to external ones.

Of course, I am constantly in touch with our commanders. Special attention to the situation in the east, of course, in the Donetsk region.

Bakhmut direction – the situation is getting more and more difficult. The enemy is constantly destroying everything that can be used to protect our positions, to gain a foothold and ensure defense.

Our warriors defending the Bakhmut sector are real heroes.

I am grateful to each and every person who is heroically holding this direction and other directions in Donbas. I thank each and every one who helps our warriors and does everything to ensure that our defenders have as many weapons, long-range weapons, powerful weapons as possible.

Today, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury paid a visit to Kyiv.

I thanked her for the vital financial support for our country. We discussed our current cooperation both at the level between Ukraine and the United States and at the level of global financial institutions, including the IMF. We discussed the needs for reconstruction in Ukraine and the restoration of justice for our people and the entire free world, which means launching a real mechanism of compensation for the damage caused by this war… compensation at the cost of Russian assets.

This is not an easy task. But fulfilling it and directing Russian assets to compensate for the war damage will be one of the most powerful hits of the free world against this aggressor and against any aggression in general.

I think a format for compensation will be found and Russia will pay for its war. In every sense.

Glory to each and every one who is now fighting for Ukraine! Thank you to everyone who helps!

May the memory of all those whose lives were taken by Russian terror be eternal!

Glory to Ukraine!