Tag: President of Ukraine

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

The International Working Group on Russian Sanctions has developed the fifth Paper of the Working Group on the topic “The Case for Designating the Russian Federation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism”. The document explains in detail the essence and features of the status of a State Sponsor of Terrorism envisaged by American law, and the need to include Russia in the list of countries with SST (State Sponsor of Terrorism) status.

The consequences of the official designation of Russia as a State Sponsor of Terrorism for Russia itself and for the US or Canada were assessed. Working group experts assessed the risks and suggested potential mitigation strategies for many of them.

The document provides factual data confirming the compliance of the actions of the Russian Federation with the definition of “terrorism”. In practice, Russia’s crimes in Ukraine are actually worse than “sponsoring terrorism”, since the main perpetrator of these acts of terrorism is the Russian armed forces, a key institution of the Russian state. The type, scale and purpose of the deliberate, politically motivated violence that the Russian state uses against Ukrainian non-combatants is appalling. The U.S. Department of State should designate the Russian Federation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. A similar designation should be made by the Canadian government.

Experts describe in detail the main consequences: restrictions on transactions, loss of sovereign immunity, secondary sanctions, individual sanctions, symbolic impact.

This designation would increase pressure to add Russia to the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It would also restrict foreign assistance from the United States and from organizations in which the U.S. is a member; ban all arms-related exports and sales; strengthen even further the controls over exports, re-export, and transfer of dual-use items; and put in place additional financial restrictions.

The designation of such status for Russia would make it easier and more likely for the U.S. to impose secondary sanctions on third parties transacting with the Russian state and private sector entities. With the SST designation in place, the U.S. and its allies could impose financial and trade sanctions on any country that continues to cooperate with the Russian state. This threat of secondary sanctions would increase the probability of compliance with sanctions already in place, thus enhancing their credibility and enforceability.

The designation would also greatly increase the scrutiny of many Russian private sector entities and individuals by international counterparties. Potential business partners would need to take extra care in their due diligence and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) research.

The complicated diplomatic, legal, and economic implications for the U.S. and potentially for other members of the sanctions coalition in imposing this designation on the Russian Federation were noted.

However, the paper argues, the laws that allow designation of such status in the United States provide sufficient flexibility to develop effective mitigation strategies for most of these problems.

The designation would bring more global attention to the nature of the Russian regime and the atrocities and terror that it has committed against innocent Ukrainian civilians. It would substantially increase the scale, scope, and effectiveness of the sanctions imposed on the Putin regime.

As for mitigating the risks, first of all, the legislation provides for the possibility of cooperation with Russian entities in joint humanitarian efforts.

It is noted that a waiver could be added to the SST designation that would allow contacts with Russian diplomats when American national interests were being advanced. For example, even while Iran was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, officials negotiated directly with Iranian diplomats to conclude the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

To reduce fears that American claimants in the U.S. might drain some Russian government assets currently being held in the United States and other banks in the democratic world, the U.S. government could stipulate that these assets are exempt from potential lawsuits and instead will be used for Ukrainian reconstruction.

There could be a condition that if Russia’s armed forces left Ukraine and therefore stopped terrorizing the Ukrainian population, then the designation would be lifted. The U.S. House of Representative and the Senate could commit to this trigger for lifting the designation in a joint resolution. Doing so in advance might create greater incentives for Putin to end his war.

Given the costs of witnessing terrorist acts and doing nothing in response, the Yermak-McFaul Group believes that the benefits of proceeding with SST designation for the Russian Federation outweigh the risks, which, in turn, can be mitigated.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 28 September 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone call with UN Secretary-General António Guterres to discuss the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

The Head of State expressed gratitude to the UN Secretary-General for his unwavering commitment to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders. Evidence of this is the clear position regarding the United Nations’ non-recognition of the sham referenda held in the occupied territories of Ukraine as a gross violation of the fundamental goals and principles of the UN Charter expressed on behalf of the Secretary-General by Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo at the meeting of the UN Security Council convened by Ukraine on September 27.

The interlocutors highly assessed the implementation of the grain initiative over the past two months, which made it possible to unblock the export of Ukrainian agricultural products and mitigate the global food crisis. They believe it is necessary to continue and expand this initiative under the auspices of the United Nations.

The parties also discussed the issues of nuclear security in the context of the threatening situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP and the next visit to Ukraine by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and António Guterres paid attention to the initiatives of Ukraine proposed during the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, as well as to a number of other important issues of the global agenda.

The President thanked the Secretary-General for holding an important meeting with the First Lady and the Prime Minister of Ukraine on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 28 September 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a substantive and constructive talk with Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz.

The Ukrainian President thanked the Chancellor for his powerful statement in support of Ukraine during a speech at the opening of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The interlocutors paid the key attention to the illegal holding of sham referenda in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and the world’s reaction to it.

“Russia’s recognition of these sham referenda, the implementation of the so-called Crimean scenario and another attempt to annex Ukrainian territory will mean that there is nothing to talk about with this President of Russia,” the Head of State emphasized.

The Ukrainian party counts on the toughening of EU sanctions and ASAP approval of the eighth package of sanctions, which should be much more powerful and synchronized with the illegal decisions of the Russian Federation.

Bilateral defense cooperation was discussed in detail. The President noted the decisions made by Germany regarding the supply of weapons to Ukraine, the already provided defense aid, and expressed hope for its further enhancement. The expected delivery to Ukraine of the first German IRIS-T air defense system to protect Ukrainian skies from Russian missile terror was especially noted.

The Federal Chancellor of Germany praised the recent exchange of prisoners of war, which resulted in the release of 215 defenders of Ukraine from Russian captivity.

The interlocutors touched upon the issue of macro-financial support for our state in wartime conditions and the important role of Germany in this process, in particular as a country presiding in the G7. The President expressed gratitude for Germany’s assistance through the UN World Food Programme in the delivery of Ukraine’s humanitarian aid to Ethiopia and Somalia.

In this context, the parties agreed on the importance of proper implementation of the grain export initiative and the need for its continuation.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olaf Scholz focused on the issue of energy security in the region.

During the discussion of the recovery of Ukraine, the Chancellor of Germany informed the President of the preparations for holding next month in Berlin the International Expert Conference on the Recovery of Ukraine as one of the activities of Germany’s G7 Presidency. The Head of State expressed willingness to address the participants of the conference in an online format and informed the Chancellor of the planned participation of the Prime Minister of Ukraine in this event.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 28 September 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had another phone call with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Liz Truss.

The Head of State thanked for the strong support of Ukraine consistently demonstrated by the government of the United Kingdom. The President noted the powerful speech of Liz Truss at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, which spoke about the importance of supporting our country until victory.

He thanked for the principled position of the British side regarding the non-recognition of the sham referenda held by Russia in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The Head of State emphasized that Great Britain became the first country in the democratic world to introduce sanctions against individuals and legal entities involved in the organization of disgraceful “referenda”.

“They are worthless and do not change reality. The territorial integrity of Ukraine will be restored. Russia’s recognition of these fake referenda and another attempt to annex Ukrainian territory will mean that there is nothing to talk about with this President of Russia,” stated Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The President expressed gratitude for the defense support for our state amid full-scale Russian aggression, as well as for significant macro-financial aid, in particular, that planned for 2023.

Liz Truss noted the efforts of the leadership of Ukraine to release the citizens of Great Britain who were in Russian captivity, and expressed gratitude for their return.

The leaders discussed the preparation of bilateral events for the near future.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Liz Truss for the meeting with the First Lady and the Prime Minister of Ukraine in New York, on the margins of the UN General Assembly, and noted that this is evidence of the strong support for our country from Great Britain.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 28 September 2022.

As part of the ongoing dialogue, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had another call with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau. The leaders constructively exchanged views on countering Russian aggression amid unprecedented pressure and blackmail by the Kremlin.

The Head of State thanked Justin Trudeau for the support of our country expressed in a speech at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The President also expressed gratitude for the principled position of the Canadian side regarding the non-recognition of the sham “referenda” held by Russia in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

“The goal of these sham “referenda” is the annexation of new Ukrainian lands,” he said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine expects the toughest reaction from international partners to Russia’s recognition of the results of these sham “referenda”.

The Head of State separately thanked Justin Trudeau for the defense support provided by Canada and for the consistent sanctions policy against the aggressor state. He also praised the intentions of the G7 to set a price cap for Russian oil.

The parties discussed the need to provide further economic support to Ukraine, as well as specialized vehicles for demining the de-occupied territories.

The President stressed the need for a tough reaction to Russian nuclear blackmail.

“The world should not tolerate Russian nuclear blackmail. We should put an end to this. The aggressor should clearly understand all the consequences of his irresponsibility,” the Head of State emphasized.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 28 September 2022.

As part of the ongoing dialogue with partners and allies, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The Head of State thanked the Turkish side for its unwavering support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, which was confirmed, in particular, in the speech of the President of Türkiye at the opening of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy highly appreciated the personal role of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in organizing the recent exchange of prisoners of war and providing shelter on Turkish soil to Ukrainian commanders. For his part, the leader of the Republic of Türkiye assured that all necessary conditions will be created for those released, as well as for relatives who will visit them in Türkiye.

The President of Ukraine thanked official Ankara for its principled position on non-recognition of sham referenda.

“The goal of the illegal sham referenda that Russia held in the occupied territories of Ukraine is the annexation of new Ukrainian lands. The world community must give the toughest possible response to Russia’s actions,” the Head of State said.

During the conversation, Türkiye’s key role in organizing the work of the grain initiative and establishing the export of Ukrainian agricultural products through the Black Sea was noted. The parties noted that since its launch, 235 ships with 5.4 million tons of agricultural products for the countries of Asia, Europe and Africa have left Ukrainian ports. Hope was expressed for the further smooth functioning of the grain initiative to prevent a global food crisis.

Separately, the leaders of the states touched upon the situation at the ZNPP. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed readiness to contribute to international efforts to prevent the nuclear threat.

The Presidents also discussed bilateral contacts to be held in the near future.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 28 September 2022.

First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska told the Good Morning America (GMA) program on ABC channel about her newly created Olena Zelenska Foundation, which she presented on September 22 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York during her visit to the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

“Our goal is to ensure that, when it becomes safe, as many Ukrainians as possible will be able to return to their homes. In order for them to return, it is necessary to restore hospitals, schools, and housing. The capabilities of the state are not always enough to immediately eliminate the consequences of all the destruction caused by the invader,” the President’s wife said.

Olena Zelenska emphasized that from now on, every person, company or organization in the world who wants to support the recovery of Ukraine will be able to do so through the foundation within the three areas of its activity: medicine, education, humanitarian aid.

“During the Russian invasion, we accumulated a lot of experience in aid and rescue. We know the needs of Ukrainians and can effectively meet them. We are doing this so that people, despite the war, return to a normal life and to Ukraine, which can give them this norm,” the First Lady said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 28 September 2022.

Ukraine must return all its temporarily occupied territories, and only then can we talk about the end of the war. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a conversation with students and lecturers of Harvard University.

“If it is not clear that we have regained our land, the war is over and there is peace, and instead something is always under a question mark, some part is not de-occupied, and the other part is in some kind of compromise, then, believe me, Russia will return to the occupation of our land,” the Head of State said.

The President noted that, unfortunately, Ukraine will not be able to return its dead citizens, but it can certainly restore justice, which begins with the return of its land.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that Russia’s war against Ukraine demonstrated the need to reset international institutions, which should react faster, preferably preventively, without waiting for a bad result.

Also, in his opinion, one may believe or not believe Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons, but the world should definitely be strong and not be afraid of intimidation by any aggressor.

“Because there will be many more such threats. So that there are fewer of them, it should be systematically written out what the reaction will be. Even to words or intentions. For such military and political leaders to be afraid to even think of threatening any state with anything – with nuclear weapons, hunger, annexation, or occupation,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President is convinced that Ukraine can set an example of such changes in the international security system, because it was on the territory of our country that the aggressor violated human rights, tortured, raped, seized a nuclear power plant, threatened with nuclear weapons, etc. Therefore, as the Head of State noted, the international working group headed by the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and former Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen developed recommendations on security guarantees for our country.

“We sent them to world leaders and would like to apply them. It is important that the countries that find themselves in danger can receive weapons, sanctions against the aggressor, and financial aid in a short time,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 28 September 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak spoke in a video conference format with representatives of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA).

At the beginning of the conversation, he expressed gratitude to Ukrainians around the world, particularly in the United States, for supporting our country during all these months of the full-scale Russian invasion.

“The Ukrainian diaspora is a cementing link that unites the efforts of American society to help in the fight against Russian total evil,” the Head of the President’s Office emphasized.

Andriy Yermak also reminded that 215 defenders of Ukraine, including two US citizens, were recently released from Russian captivity, and the work on the liberation of all prisoners will not stop.

The Head of the Office of the President stated that Ukraine will continue to insist on recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism at all levels, and the need for this should be actively communicated.

Andriy Yermak noted that now it is extremely important to continue and strengthen the powerful armed support for Ukraine by the US to free all our people and Ukrainian land from the occupiers as soon as possible.

He said that weekly briefings are held in the President’s Office for the military of the United States and Great Britain, who receive detailed information about the current developments at the front and the use of aid provided by partners.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President Roman Mashovets informed the UCCA representatives about the needs of the defense forces of Ukraine and outlined the ways in which Ukrainians in the US could contribute to our country obtaining the necessary means to protect and liberate its land.

According to Andriy Yermak, it is extremely important that the US be at the forefront of the process of bringing Russia’s top leadership to justice for war crimes.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President Andriy Smyrnov emphasized the importance of creating a special international tribunal that would deal with the bloodiest crime of aggression since World War II, which caused all other subsequent war crimes during the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The project of creating this tribunal has already been presented to the ambassadors of 30 countries.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President Rostyslav Shurma spoke about the plans for the reconstruction of Ukraine, which concern both the urgent restoration of the social, energy, and transport infrastructure for the normal functioning of the state today, as well as a more distant perspective. In particular, it is about the Recovery Fund, which will aim to create opportunities for public and private investors to participate in the reconstruction and revitalization of Ukraine’s economy.

Andriy Yermak also offered the Ukrainian diaspora in the US to join the United24 platform initiated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and choose their representatives who could become its ambassadors.

For his part, President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America Andriy Futey noted that the Ukrainian community in the United States is constantly working to stop the enemy who has come to Ukrainian soil. This concerns the areas of defense support for Ukraine, sanctions pressure on Russia, recognition of the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism, and holding its leadership accountable for war crimes.

He talked about the measures of the Ukrainian diaspora in support of Ukraine, and also expressed readiness to actively promote the initiatives of our country in the United States.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 27 September 2022.

The Office of the President of Ukraine continues involving partners in the implementation of the Fast Recovery Plan and the restoration of the infrastructure damaged by the full-scale Russian invasion. On Tuesday, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Tymoshenko held a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to Ukraine Alexandru Victor Micula.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko spoke in detail about the recovery plan and the creation of a special reconstruction fund. He also informed about the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to which partner states, individual cities and large businesses are offered to take under patronage the restoration of regions of Ukraine, individual objects or directions. Everyone can choose what to take care of.

The Deputy Head of the President’s Office noted that the needs of our country are constantly updated, as the war continues and the Ukrainian Armed Forces de-occupy new territories. Now, on the eve of winter, the restoration of housing, networks and other critical infrastructure is urgent.

“Many citizens have already returned home, and they need to restore the roofs in their houses, replace windows and so on,” noted Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

He added that part of the work, in particular the most urgent one, is carried out with budget funds, but Ukraine’s resources are limited, so the help of partners is needed.

Alexandru Victor Micula noted that Romania is ready to support the recovery of Ukraine and is waiting for detailed information about the facilities and the Fast Recovery Plan, which can be presented to the government.

The Ambassador expressed interest in involving Romanian private individuals and companies in the recovery process, which could speed up the reconstruction of Ukraine, since the provision of budget funds requires bureaucratic procedures.

The Deputy Head of the President’s Office noted that the Ukrainian troops are fighting for the liberation of the Luhansk region and the final de-occupation of the Kharkiv region. And in the already liberated areas of the Kharkiv region, the issue of restoring networks that were completely destroyed during hostilities is extremely urgent.

In the Sumy, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions, the most pressing issue is assistance in rebuilding citizens’ homes. According to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, there are about 20,000 private houses in the Kyiv region that need urgent repair.