Tag: President of Ukraine

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 5 April 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the Golden Star Orders to the servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who were awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine and the members of the families of the servicemen who were posthumously awarded this title.

The ceremony took place at the Mariyinsky Palace in Kyiv.

“We are in the place where the leadership of our state met with the leaders of other states before the war. This place is called the White Hall of the Mariyinsky Palace. I also had meetings with many leaders of states whom this war showed as friends and partners or vice versa. And from today I have the great honor to award the best here. You are the leaders for our state,” said the President of Ukraine, addressing the Heroes and members of their families.

He added that from now on this hall will be called the White Hall of Heroes of Ukraine and those who have been awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine will be awarded here.

“I am honored to see you here today. Unfortunately, I cannot see all those Heroes perished in the war, in the struggle for our independence against the Russian Federation,” the Head of State said.

“I want to thank everyone. I want to thank those who are not here with us today. Who are on the frontline, defending our country from the Russian occupier everyday,” the President added.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 5 April 2022.

Even if Ukraine signs the most powerful security agreement, Russia may return. Therefore, it is necessary to build a state that will be able to defend itself. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview to the Ukrainian media.

The Head of State noted that all the points on security guarantees voiced after the talks in Istanbul remain unchanged.

According to him, during the negotiation process, the Ukrainian side, along with the so-called denazification, rejected Russia’s demand for demilitarization.

“We explained that the army must be in line with the army we have, which is able to defend our state. Then there are the details,” the President said.

“Even if we sign the most powerful agreement, we understand that in two years Russia may return. And if you and I accept this, then we act accordingly,” the President said.

In view of this, Ukraine will build a state that will be able to defend itself, as the Ukrainian side openly states at the talks.

At the same time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his conviction that Ukraine cannot fight constantly while other countries develop. That is why our state needs concrete security guarantees.

According to the President, everything depends on the guarantor countries, which must ensure the implementation of certain points.

“All this is being discussed at the level of advisers and leaders with France, the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Israel, and there are many friends who want to join. So far, we have not received a specific list of guarantees and a list of countries that are ready to join us 100%,” the President said.

“We do not need to have 40 countries of the world that are ready to join and fight for Ukraine under the agreement. We need serious players who are ready for anything. We need a circle of states that are ready to provide any weapons within 24 hours. We need individual countries on which sanctions policy really depends, so that these sanctions are deeply elaborated in advance. So that in the first second when we feel the threat from the Russian Federation, these states will unite and within three days introduce everything at once, block everything,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained.

According to him, representatives of some countries have already expressed a desire to become guarantors of security, but no joint meeting has taken place yet.

“They said they were ready to meet and talk about it. But I would like to emphasize once again that this meeting has not yet taken place in Ukraine. We are waiting for it. If this happens, there will be an understanding that we have certain security guarantees that provide for non-alignment,” the President said.

“So far, all of these guarantors are positive about Ukraine. But this is not enough. We already had such agreements and “papers”,” he added.

As for joining NATO, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine is ready to join the Alliance “already tomorrow”, even if Russia opposes it.

“If we are offered to join NATO tomorrow, if they don’t play with our lives again, but seriously offer, we will join. But this will not happen, unfortunately, and did not happen. That is why we will build those security guarantees that can protect us, protect people’s lives. We can protect ourselves anyway – we already understand that. But protecting all people is a more difficult task,” he said.

The President said that he would consider the preservation of Ukraine’s sovereignty to be the first victory in this war.

“Second, I really want us not to lose hundreds of thousands of people. Third, there can be no discussion that we will allow someone to call Crimea someone’s territory. This is our territory, Ukrainian territory. Postponing this issue is a compromise. And Donbas for me is Ukraine. And the fact that Russia has recognized ORDLO as something – we must find a way out of this situation. We, as Ukraine. Preserving the status of these territories as Ukrainian is very important for us,” the Head of State said.

In his opinion, the withdrawal of Russian troops to the positions of February 23, 2022 will be a victory.

“I understand where we are, who we are, what kind of country we are, what we have lost, what we can lose and what we have saved. I believe that repelling the full-scale war to the point where it began on February 24, 2022 is definitely a victory for us,” said the President.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that after the end of this war, the issue of security should be number one in Ukraine.

“I think all our people will be our great army. We cannot talk about “Switzerland of the future” – probably, our state will be able to be like this a long time after. But we will definitely become a “big Israel” with its own face. We will not be surprised that we will have representatives of the Armed Forces or the National Guard in all institutions, supermarkets, cinemas, there will be people with weapons. I am sure that our security issue will be number one in the next ten years,” the President said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 5 April 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that the issue of the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea should not be tied to the negotiation process with Russia to end the war and withdraw Russian troops from the territories of our state where they entered starting from February 24. This was stated by the President in an interview to the Ukrainian media.

He is convinced that resolving all issues in a package and thus ending the war with Russia is difficult and unlikely. Especially when there are tanks on our territory, rockets hit our cities, when there are difficult situations in blocked cities, such as Mariupol.

“Russia has its own vision of Donbas, and Ukraine has its own. So I had a simple suggestion. I believe that we will not be able to agree on all points at once. This is impossible, even if we have negotiations,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Responding to calls for the military liberation of all temporarily occupied territories, the President stressed that one of the most powerful groups of Ukrainian troops are fighting in Donbas, in the Joint Forces Operation area. They oppose the enemy, which significantly outnumbers them. And if you give them the command to go on the offensive now, it will cost thousands of lives.

“Our state needs a strong army. And if we want to lose the most powerful, most experienced people because “I want it now” we must understand that they will return to us (enemy forces – ed.), and not in two or three years, but in the same month. All the military know and think about it. This is a very serious story,” he explained.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that there is indeed a concentration of Russian troops in Donbas, and Ukraine is well aware of the goal and possible plans of the Russian Federation.

“Donbas, and the south of Ukraine, and the corridor to Crimea, and the Kherson region, and the Zaporizhzhia region… We basically understand what they are doing. In order for them to succeed, they will fight for Donbas. And Mariupol is a life for us, a city, and for them it is a “medal” that they want to hang on their chests,” he said.

The President noted that today the deoccupation of Mariupol by military means is very difficult. And its defenders, who are fighting in extremely difficult conditions, know this very well.

“We are in touch almost every day. It is difficult for them. They are very strong. It’s true. And it is difficult for different people in different ways. There are their wounded or dead brothers-in-arms. They would like their parents to receive the bodies of the dead, and they would like us to have an opportunity to take out the wounded,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

According to him, there is an agreement on this issue with Turkey, which is ready to transport the wounded and killed in Mariupol from Berdyansk.

“We have all the infrastructure ready to take out the wounded and dead. We are waiting for Putin’s approval. I talked to Erdoğan, Erdoğan talks to him. And now this moment depends on him. If we succeed, we will see the result in the coming days. If it fails, we will know for sure that the President of the Russian Federation personally does not give such an opportunity. Although everyone is putting pressure from different sides, because it is considered a humanitarian step,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The Head of State also rejected the possibility of returning the occupied Crimea by force. The President explained that Ukraine’s proposals in negotiations with Russia on Crimea do not mean that the topic of deoccupation of the peninsula will not be raised for 10-15 years. On the contrary, according to him, the agreement should stipulate that during this period the parties must resolve the issue of Crimea through diplomacy.

“The proposed format is not to solve it now, but to solve it at least tomorrow, during this period. I think this is not a bad decision. But I think so now. Today, if there were such agreements on Crimea, I believe this would be a victory for Ukraine,” the President said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 5 April 2022.

The central government has made great efforts to ensure that the heads of regional state administrations form joint teams with mayors and representatives of law enforcement agencies at the local level, and this has significantly strengthened the defensive position of our state. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview to the Ukrainian media.

“We must openly say that we were all working on it. Strongly, with calls, with screams. However, these teams have emerged. And their cities can be proud of them today, and there are no questions to them,” the Head of State said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that some mayors failed to demonstrate resilience during the war, but thanks to teamwork, they returned to full duty.

“We united these teams, many mayors came to their senses and started working in three or four days. And then they said: sorry, we were really just not ready. We talked in a human way, today everything is fine,” he said.

The President noted that many heads of regional state administrations have now become professional “war managers”.

“No head of the regional state administration ran anywhere. Honestly, I don’t think we had such a staffing approach. But it turned out that these people are just powerful. And they are all on the ground, all heads of regional state administrations,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

According to the Head of State, some leaders of territorial communities have shown themselves to be strong and courageous people and even gave their lives for our homeland.

“Unfortunately, we lost several of them. They were killed. They were tortured. After the war, we will sit down and at the regional level will tell how many calls with such people we had, how many things happened as it was. How they deceived the enemy, it was daily. “Several times we “buried” these people, took them out, then brought them in so that they could appear in the squares as a symbol for the people that they are there,” the President said.

He stressed that the mayors had become “flag people” who supported the inhabitants of the communities during the difficult times of the war.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that many business representatives also stayed in Ukraine and supported citizens and the military on a volunteer basis.

“I am very grateful to all these people, no matter what business they represent – small, medium, large. All the same, they are doing great,” the Head of State said.

However, he noted that there were also entrepreneurs who went abroad allegedly for the sake of one or another activity, allegedly for the sake of Ukraine.

According to the Head of State, Ukrainian oligarchs also showed various qualities during the war.

“They behaved differently. We will draw conclusions when we win. Someone suddenly became a hero, and someone ceased to be a strong man,” the President concluded.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 5 April 2022.

Despite all the crimes committed by the Russian army against civilians in the suburbs of Kyiv, Ukraine must continue negotiations with the Russian Federation, as other Ukrainian cities are under occupation, where civilians are also blocked. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview for the Ukrainian media.

The Head of State noted that after exposing the crimes of the occupiers in Bucha, Irpin and other towns in the Kyiv region and realizing the scale of the tragedy, both Ukrainian authorities and citizens will see as a challenge even the possibility of negotiations with the aggressor, not to mention their content.

“Everyone understands that what they did is unforgivable. We need to know that,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.

Nevertheless, according to the President, it is necessary to find strength and continue negotiations.

“Every such tragedy, every such Bucha will just make it harder as regards any negotiations. And here we still need to find opportunities for such steps. We want to have a stronger position at these talks,” he said, noting that the support of Ukrainian society, which is also a powerful weapon, is important here.

According to the Head of State, the authorities should take into account not only the positions of the Armed Forces, but also those people who were blocked in places of active hostilities and temporarily occupied settlements. Then there will be no question of whether someone wants negotiations or not – the question of their necessity and the strength of the parties at the negotiating table arises.

“Just saying today that we will not talk about anything anymore is the easiest position. The easiest thing to say is that I will not talk to you, and it is clear why, after what you have done. The most difficult thing is to say what they did, to recognize them as enemies, to know that this is specifically Russia’s war against Ukraine. Admit it all. We believe that this is genocide, we believe that they must all be punished. But we have to find opportunities to meet. And at the meeting to find a way out of this situation and at the same time not to lose our territory,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.

Regarding the prosecution of all those involved in crimes against civilians in Ukraine, the President assured that the state is already working on it.

“We will definitely do that. Relevant lists will be compiled. We live in a civilized world, and therefore there is an order that will be ensured in accordance with law and international law. The day before yesterday, we agreed to set up a joint commission with the European Union,” the President said.

He said that he had discussed this issue with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, whose visit to Kyiv is expected in the near future.

“Prosecutors of different states, a joint commission will deal with all these crimes. There is a separate case of ours against these criminals who tortured our people. We are starting to gather this information. We will look for all these people,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy added.

To clarify how Ukraine will ensure that the killers are prosecuted, the President said that the commission has already been established, the Prosecutor General and a representative of the President’s Office will join its work.

“I do not see any more mechanisms. I believe that the internal Ukrainian mechanism, which my colleagues and I started talking about, will be very effective, because there are people who really want to find these criminals. I think we will find the right format. If international law does not resolve this issue, Ukrainian law will find a way out of this difficult situation, of this tragedy,” he said.

The Head of State also predicts that the amount of evidence and testimony about crimes committed by the Russian army against civilians will increase, as the liberation of other temporarily occupied cities of Ukraine is ahead.

“There will be no fewer of them, because Izyum is still ahead, there are many things we have no access to. Occupied Melitopol, Berdyansk. We have no idea what happened there. We’ll find this procedure. There will be an action plan. There are no secrets here, because we openly say: we will do it. It doesn’t make sense to keep secret how we will find these people,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy summed up.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 4 April 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak is convinced that today no one has any doubts that the Ukrainian state is a full-fledged part of Europe and deserves to be at the center of an effective European security system. He said this in an interview for Natalia Moseichuk on 1+1 TV channel.

“I believe that there is no adequate person who is not convinced that Ukraine is part of Europe, a democratic world and today is actually a fortress, which protects not only itself but all the values of the democratic world,” said Andriy Yermak.

He noted that today tens of thousands of people take to the streets of Berlin, Paris and other cities in Europe and the world having already made their choice regarding their attitude towards our country.

The Head of the President’s Office is convinced that 14 years ago at the NATO summit in Bucharest, a very big historical mistake was made when specific Allied countries and specific leaders started a game with Russia.

“Then it was possible to make a historic decision that could have prevented this heinous war, but it did not happen,” he said.

Andriy Yermak is convinced that today Ukraine, which has been directly holding back one of the world’s largest armies for more than a month, could strengthen any alliance.

“But we need it today – not tomorrow. There is no time. Otherwise we will build a new system. Today we are not just knocking on the door. Today we simply demand, we deserve it – to be at the center of the security system of our region, Europe,” said the Head of the President’s Office.

He noted that now the priority for Ukraine is to end the war and create a new security system in the world, because the effectiveness of the existing one is doubted.

Andriy Yermak noted that Ukraine will never consider any compromises concerning independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“It is unacceptable for us. And there is a position of the state that today Ukraine must return to internationally recognized borders,” he said.

According to the Head of the President’s Office, there are issues that need to be resolved in the negotiations now: the withdrawal of Russian troops and the return to the situation as of February 23, 2022, so that these are truly full-fledged talks – not under the gun.

At the same time, the issues with the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea also need to be resolved.

“These are separate issues that should also be the subject of negotiations today, and they are the subject of negotiations,” Andriy Yermak said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 4 April 2022.

The crimes committed by the Russian military against civilians in the Ukrainian cities of Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel and other settlements in the Kyiv region are genocide of the Ukrainian people. This was emphasized by Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak in an interview for Natalia Moseichuk on 1+1 TV channel.

According to him, the true scale of the crimes of Russian troops in the occupied suburbs of the capital can be estimated when full information is available. But it is clear that this cannot be compared to the massacre in Srebrenica, one of the largest war crimes in modern European history committed during the 1995 Bosnian war.

“It’s a completely different story. One nuclear power attacked a non-nuclear power. This is Russia’s war against Ukraine, so I would not make such comparisons. But in terms of horror and absolutely inhuman treatment it’s real genocide, one hundred percent,” he said.

Andriy Yermak said that every day he communicates with his colleagues – political advisers in the United States, Germany, Great Britain and other countries and informs them in detail and provides photo evidence of the crimes of the Russian occupiers against Ukrainians.

“Shock reaction. I am convinced that they should feel what all Ukrainians feel today. Because the decisions we expect depend on many of them,” he said.

Answering the question whether he has received calls from any Russians apologizing for what their country is doing to Ukraine, the Head of the President’s Office said: “They must apologize to the entire Ukrainian people. But I don’t think it will be accepted today. And this is for many, many years. There is no excuse for what we see today, what we feel. And, unfortunately, all this continues – we have not stopped this war yet.”

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 4 April 2022.

Peace in Ukraine is impossible without victory, and victory can be achieved through diplomacy in parallel with the fighting of the Ukrainian army. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a conversation with international and Ukrainian journalists in Bucha, Kyiv region.

The Head of State noted that the Foreign Ministers of Ukraine and Russia met in Turkey, but the meeting ended in vain. He stressed that the delay in the negotiation process by Russia will have negative consequences for this country.

“Every day, when our troops come in and deoccupy certain territories, you see what is happening. It’s very difficult to talk when you see what they’ve done here. Every day people are found there in barrels, in cellars, strangled, tortured. Therefore, we believe that if they have something to think with, they need to think faster,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.

The President expressed conviction that peace would be established in Ukraine in any case, because our modern European country cannot live in war.

“We strive for peace, we deserve it. And these people showed it, and the Armed Forces showed it. Peace is impossible without victory. Victory can be achieved in a diplomatic format in parallel with the fighting steps of our army. Our army demonstrates its fighting steps on a daily basis, but it is not easy. We do not want to lose millions of people. That is why there should be dialogue,” the Head of State said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 4 April 2022.

The restoration of Ukrainian cities will begin immediately after their liberation from the Russian occupiers. A plan for Ukraine’s economic revival has already been prepared. This was announced byHead of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak in an interview for Natalia Moseichuk on 1+1 TV channel.

“The President already has a plan for economic revival on the table. We do not waste a single day, we are thinking and getting ready as regards how we can start today. I think that the reconstruction of cities will begin immediately after their release,” Andriy Yermak said.

He noted the great unity of the country that is observed now: Ukraine is no longer divided into west and east or on the basis of language.

“Today we are really making history – the history of a great nation, a great country,” said the Head of the President’s Office.

Therefore, according to him, all the negative phenomena, such as corruption, excessive bureaucracy and bloated state apparatus, should remain in the past. The Ukrainian economy must become human-centered, and the state must guarantee justice.

“We will rebuild the cities. The worst thing is that we will not bring back the people who were killed. There is nothing more precious than human life. And we will rebuild everything else, we will rebuild it quickly,” Andriy Yermak is convinced.

The Head of the President’s Office also supported the idea of creating a large memorial to honor all those whom Ukraine lost in this war with the Russian occupier.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 4 April 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the city of Bucha in the Kyiv region, where mass killings of civilians took place during the occupation by Russian troops.

The Head of State visited the humanitarian aid center and talked to local residents.

Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk told the President about the humanitarian situation in the city, the progress of the search for the bodies of the dead, the assessment of the damage caused by the occupiers to private and communal property, and the pace of reconstruction of the city.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Anatoliy Fedoruk with the Order of Courage of the III Degree.

The Head of State also spoke with international and Ukrainian journalists who came to Bucha to document Russia’s war crimes.

“It is very important for us that journalists are here. We want you to show the world what was happening here, what the Russian military was doing, what the Russian Federation was doing in peaceful Ukraine,” the President said, addressing the media.

As Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted, what the Russian occupiers did to this modern town is genocide.

“These are war crimes and they will be recognized by the world as genocide. We are aware of thousands of people killed and tortured, with their limbs cut off. Raped women, murdered children. I believe this is genocide,” the President said.

In addition, the President watched the road with destroyed equipment of the Russian army, as well as the destroyed bridge across the Irpin River on the M-06 Kyiv – Chop highway.

The President noted that part of the bridge over the Irpin River will be repaired and opened in a few months.

Preparations for the construction of a temporary crossing have now begun. It will be opened in about two weeks, said Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov.

According to him, full-fledged movement of one passage of the bridge can be started in two months, both passages – in three or four months.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also visited the destroyed bridge over the Irpin River on the R-30 highway. It will take ten days to build a temporary crossing here, and a full-fledged repair will take two to three months.