Tag: President of Ukraine

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 20 October 2022.

The task of the Ukrainian state is to help Ukrainians endure the winter as best as possible. This was stated by First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska in an interview with the German newspaper Bild.

In particular, she talked about the Russian strikes this and last Monday (October 17 and October 10).

“Russian terrorist attacks are too close to every Ukrainian, no matter where you are at this moment. We grieved for the death of a young pregnant woman caused by a Russian drone in the capital together with a colleague from my team – she knew Victoria personally. For my part, I am well acquainted with the doctors from “Okhmatdyt” who suffered a heavy loss last week – the Russian attack took the life of a young pediatric doctor, hematologist Oksana Leontieva,” said the First Lady.

At the same time, she emphasized that every strike only unites Ukrainians more.

“We are working and we have plans, because to postpone life, to freeze means to give in to terror,” the President’s wife is convinced.

Olena Zelenska also talked about the work of her recently established foundation, which was presented in New York in September.

“Now our task is to help survive the winter to those who remain in the Kherson region, Kharkiv region and other vulnerable territories. Everything is needed: from generators to medications. Other tasks, in addition to humanitarian aid, are the reconstruction and material and technical equipment of schools so that children can study in comfortable and safe conditions, the restoration and material and technical equipment of hospitals so that people can receive medical aid in a timely manner,” the First Lady said.

The wife of the President of Ukraine thanked Germany for the new batch of aid and noted that if it had arrived earlier, many victims and destruction could have been avoided.

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

In addition to fighting the Russian aggressor on the battlefield, Ukraine is forced to quickly overcome the challenges associated with eliminating the aftermath of Russian strikes on critical infrastructure facilities to ensure the normal life of peaceful citizens. This was stated by Deputy Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Tymoshenko when delivering a speech online at the Ukraine Reconstruction and Recovery Conference, which is ongoing in The Hague.

“Ukraine is actually in a state of war and daily overcomes unprecedented challenges. Over the past two weeks, the occupiers, using cruise missiles and kamikaze drones of Iranian origin, have systematically and daily mounted terrorist attacks on the critical energy infrastructure of Ukraine. And now, during our communication, missiles and drones are flying over the territory of Ukraine,” he said.

As Tymoshenko said, the terrorist state is purposefully destroying Ukrainian power plants, CHPPs and other critical infrastructure facilities every day. And every day, often under fire, Ukrainian energy workers and engineers are trying to restore the destroyed facilities and prevent the interruption of the supply of electricity, heat and water throughout the country.

“However, it is becoming more and more difficult to do this in view of the increase in the number of destroyed objects,” the deputy head of the Office of the President added.

Tymoshenko said that, as of now, more than 30% of critical infrastructure facilities have been destroyed by Russian strikes.

“They do it deliberately. Their goal is to leave the country without power and heat on the eve of winter. This is a real genocide of Ukrainians, which the Russians have resorted to more than once in their history,” he said.

In this context, the deputy head of the President’s Office said: Ukraine needs equipment that will ensure the functioning of mobile and stationary heating points for the population. He called on the Netherlands to help in this direction.

“I want to call on the Netherlands to become a leader in helping Ukraine survive a possible blackout – no power, heating and water supply in the homes of Ukrainians, saving thousands of lives of our people,” Tymoshenko said.

As the deputy head of the Office of the President said, as of the 238th day of the full-scale war, 97,406 destroyed infrastructure objects in all regions of the country were recorded in the dedicated online system.

He called on the Netherlands to actively participate in the implementation of the Fast Recovery Plan, which provides for the restoration of the most urgent facilities, which will enable Ukrainians to return home and survive the winter period normally.

Tymoshenko informed about the principles of implementation of this project with the involvement of the mechanisms of the Ukraine Recovery Fund.

The deputy head of the President’s Office thanked the Netherlands for the initiative of holding a national business forum on the reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine and the country’s government for considering the possibility of patronage over Kherson region.

According to Tymoshenko, the event with the participation of government officials, representatives of the Agency for Entrepreneurship and the National Business Association is a real opportunity to discuss and find solutions to the challenges Ukraine faces, in particular, those related to the urgent recovery of critical infrastructure.

“We in Ukraine highly appreciate the support of the Dutch government and Prime Minister Rutte personally, who was in Ukraine on official visits already several times during the war, as well as the country’s broad participation in reconstruction projects in Ukraine,” Tymoshenko said.

“I hope that today’s Conference will be another important step on this path,” the deputy head of the President’s Office said.

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

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held a meeting with European Commissioner for Crisis Management, European Emergency Response Coordinator Yanez Lenarčič, who arrived in our country.

At the beginning of the conversation, Yermak thanked Lenarčič for his visit to Ukraine in this tense period, when our country has been under massive attacks by missiles and drones from the Russian Federation. He said that Ukrainians have been living like this for eight months.

“This visit is a powerful signal of your support and assistance for Ukraine. We continue moving towards victory and do everything possible for this. And for us, of course, the preservation of the lives of our people is paramount,” the head of the President’s Office said.

Yermak also said that Ukrainians will always remember the attitude of the European community, citizens of the European Union states to us in this difficult time for our country.

“Today, we consider the EU to be our home, because Ukraine has received the candidate status and, we hope, will become a member of the European Union in the near future,” he said.

The special attention of the European Commissioner was drawn to the shocking scale of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which require decisive actions from all organizations that take care of compliance with the rules of international humanitarian law and the protection of human rights.

In connection with the failure of the International Committee of the Red Cross to perform its mandate, Yermak called for more active steps on the part of other international organizations, in particular the European Union, to assist in the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

In his turn, Lenarčič assured that Ukraine can continue to count on the support of the European Commission, among other things, on the continuation of unprecedented assistance in the areas that are the responsibility of the European Commissioner for Crisis Management.

Lenarčič recalled the support that has been provided to our country and the plans for further assistance, taking into account all the large-scale challenges that Ukraine is facing. In particular, he drew attention to the importance of helping Ukrainians in the cold season, when shelling of critical infrastructure threatens normal life.

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

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic Nikos Dendias.

The head of state discussed with the head of the ministry of foreign affairs of Greece key issues of bilateral cooperation: strengthening support for Ukraine and sanctions pressure on Russia, as well as ensuring a tough consolidated response of the international community to the crimes of the Russian aggressor against our state.

Noting Greece’s consistent support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders, Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to the Greek government and society for effective assistance to our country in the fight against Russian aggression, primarily in the defense sphere, as well as for supporting Ukraine’s initiative to include the historical center of the city of Odesa to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The President highly appreciated Greece’s decisions and practical steps regarding the supply of infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine.

“We feel this support. I want to thank your society for the extremely warm attitude of Greeks to Ukrainians,” he said.

Zelenskyy separately noted the principled and staunch stance of Greece during the adoption of the decision to grant Ukraine the European Union candidate status and expressed his confidence that Athens will continue to support our country on the path of European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

The President briefed the interlocutor on the aftermath of missile terror by Russia, which seeks to destroy Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, primarily energy, on the eve of winter and the beginning of the heating season.

“But the enemy is not capable of destroying the will of our people,” the Head of State said and called on Greece to actively participate in the restoration of Ukraine, primarily in the energy sector.

Separately, Zelenskyy and Dendias discussed the prospects of stepping up interstate cooperation at the highest level.

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

Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak has called on France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, which are among the leaders in providing Ukraine with weapons and military equipment, to step up actions to strengthen our country’s air defense. He said this at a briefing for representatives of the diplomatic corps of these countries in the Office of the President.

Yermak said that every day in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine, air-raid sirens sound for hours. Russia is carrying out insidious mass attacks on critical infrastructure of Ukraine and the civilian population with the help of missile weapons and kamikaze drones.

“Certainly, given what has been happening in recent days, one of our main priorities is to create protection for our cities, civil infrastructure and create an air shield for Ukraine. And I am very glad that today it is no longer a matter for discussion, but only a matter of time. And this should be done as soon as possible,” the head of the President’s Office said.

Yermak also repeatedly emphasized that for actions during the war against Ukraine, the Russian Federation must be designated as a state sponsor of terrorism with implications.

He expressed hope that the countries represented at the meeting will support the adoption of the PACE resolution, in which the Russian Federation will be called a terrorist regime, at a sitting of the European Parliament on November 21-24.

According to him, Ukraine knows exactly how to win the war.

“Today, Ukraine – with your help and support, for which we are very grateful – but still single-handedly destroyed almost 50% of the potential of NATO’s main threat. And that is why I am convinced that Ukraine’s membership in NATO will strengthen the Alliance,” the head of the President’s Office said.

In addition, Yermak reminded that the International Working Group on Security Guarantees for Ukraine, co-chaired by the head of the Office of the President and former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, developed recommendations on security guarantees for Ukraine, which could become the basis of a document called the “Kyiv Security Compact.”

This document was sent to the leadership of Ukraine’s partner states, and the Ukrainian side is waiting for their reaction and comments on the proposals.

“We continue consultations with our partners and believe that the steps to create a special air defense can be the first in the implementation of the program of security guarantees for our country,” the head of the President’s Office said.

The commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk, briefed the Western European diplomats on the air attacks that Ukraine suffered in October and the countermeasures by the Ukrainian military using the available forces and means.

Oleschuk and Deputy Head of the Office of the President Roman Mashovets told the participants of the briefing about the needs of the Ukrainian army for even better air and missile defense for the Ukrainian sky.

Diplomatic representatives noted the importance of the provided information and asked clarifying questions in order to provide relevant information to the leadership of their states.

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

A strategic meeting on security at energy supply facilities chaired by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy took place.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko, Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyi, Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Chernyshov, representatives of the State Emergency Service, heads of energy enterprises, executive authorities and local governments.

The participants of the meeting discussed measures to eliminate the consequences if the energy system of Ukraine were disabled.

In addition, urgent issues related to security at critical facilities that ensure the vital activity of cities, towns and villages of Ukraine were considered, as well as the necessary steps to pass the heating season in the conditions of constant shelling of energy supply facilities by the troops of the terrorist country – Russia.

Scenarios of possible consequences and models of population support during possible threats of various degrees of danger were discussed. The participants agreed on the measures if electricity were not available in populated areas.

Separately, they focused on the issue of cooperation with international partners regarding equipment to provide it to all settlements that could be left without electricity.

The President set the task to quickly create mobile power points for the critical infrastructure of cities, towns and villages.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 18 October 2022.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Roman Mashovets held a meeting with the delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia led by Director General of the Foreign Ministry’s Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Marge Mardisalu-Kahar and Ambassador of Estonia to Ukraine Kaimo Kuusk.

The Estonian side was informed about the resistance to Russian aggression, in particular about air threats from the Russian Federation, the purpose and consequences of Russian missile terrorism, the ability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to protect the Ukrainian skies and the needs for its development, as well as possible threats from Belarus, where the Russian-Belarusian “regional grouping of troops” is being formed.

Roman Mashovets expressed gratitude to Estonia for the security, material and technical assistance provided to Ukraine, which is one of the largest given the capabilities of Tallinn. The needs of air defense of Ukraine, which this country can satisfy, were conveyed to the Estonian side.

For her part, Marge Mardisalu-Kahar informed that last week the Estonian government approved the decision to allocate the next, eighth package of security aid to Ukraine, the delivery of which has already begun.

The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia assured of further comprehensive support for our country at the bilateral and international levels, primarily within the European Union and NATO.

“You are fighting for something bigger – for our shared democratic values,” Marge Mardisalu-Kahar emphasized.

She also informed of the decision approved today by the Estonian Parliament to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The interlocutors discussed joint actions on issues of international support for Ukraine, as well as further isolation of Russia as an aggressor and international terrorist.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 18 October 2022.

The shocking scale of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocidal crimes committed by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian prisoners of war require at least a clear position and determination from all organizations that take care of compliance with the norms and requirements of international humanitarian law. This was stated by Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak based on the results of the Ukrainian delegation’s trip to the touch line in the Zaporizhzhia region, which was not attended by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Last week, during a video call with President of the Red Cross Mirjana Egger, Andriy Yermak called on representatives of the ICRC to visit the touch line together with the Ukrainian delegation and demand that the organization’s mission be allowed into the temporarily occupied territory to check the condition of Ukrainian prisoners in Olenivka.

On Monday, Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Lubinets, Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President Daria Zarivna and people’s deputies Maria Mezentseva, Yehor Cherniev, Denys Maslov and Olena Khomenko arrived at the touch line in the Zaporizhzhia region on Monday. However, as Daria Zarivna reported at a briefing in Zaporizhzhia, ICRC representatives did not join the Ukrainian delegation on this trip.

“As Andriy Yermak said in this regard, war is a test for both people and international organizations. Unfortunately, the Red Cross not only tolerates Russian violations of all norms of international law, but also does it silently,” she emphasized, quoting the Head of the President’s Office.

Dmytro Lubinets noted that representatives of the ICRC, despite their commitments, have not yet visited the colony in Olenivka, where, in particular, defenders of “Azovstal” are kept.

“Unfortunately, during every exchange, we see that the inaction of the ICRC has led to the fact that our prisoners of war and civilian hostages are tortured daily with hunger, electricity, because the Russians know that the International Committee of the Red Cross will not come, will not demand access to the places of detention of prisoners of war and civilians, and that in general it demonstrates inaction,” the ombudsman said.

He stated that the ICRC does not fulfill its mandate, which provides for the visit to military and civilian hostages both in the temporarily occupied territories and in the territory of the Russian Federation, justifying this by the lack of permission from the Russian side.

In this context, Andriy Yermak emphasized: “Ukraine expects and demands from the International Committee of the Red Cross due determination in obtaining access to Ukrainian prisoners in Olenivka. After all, the organization was created precisely for such tasks.”

“We are aware that the main obstacle to the arrival of the ICRC mission to the place of forced detention of Ukrainians in Olenivka is primarily Russia’s destructive and cynical position. At the same time, unfortunately, we do not see that the ICRC is working to protect our prisoners. Ukrainian society does not see this. Relatives of the defenders do not see this,” the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine emphasized.

As Andriy Yermak noted, the Ukrainian side has every reason to expect decisive proactive actions by the ICRC in implementing its humanitarian mandate, as well as a clear public position and communication of all its actions aimed at overcoming the most acute humanitarian challenge in Europe.

The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine also called on other international organizations and humanitarian actors to take active steps, as their direct human rights mandate should not allow them to stand aside and passively observe how Russia continues to commit the most brutal crimes of our time.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 15 October 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak had a video call with the new president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.

Yermak congratulated her on the recent assumption of office and expressed hope that under her leadership the ICRC will successfully overcome complex humanitarian problems, in particular those caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The head of the Office of the President said that today, the situation with violation of human rights in the occupied territories of Ukraine is one that Europe and the world have not seen for decades. This also applies to the treatment of captured Ukrainian troops and civilians in places of detention.

Yermak urged Egger to do everything possible to send the ICRC mission to the penal colony in Olenivka in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk region, where at the end of July, more than 50 defenders of Ukraine were killed in a terrorist shelling by the Russian invaders. According to him, our state is ready to contribute to this mission in every possible way.

“Today is a critical moment. This war is a test for everyone: for Ukraine, for international organizations,” he said.

The head of the President’s Office is convinced that ICRC representatives should arrive at the contact line in the east of Ukraine on October 17. This would be a very important step.

Egger stressed the importance of ICRC staff having access to prisoners of war, particularly in Olenivka.

“This is my priority. And we will continue to facilitate access,” the ICRC president said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 14 October 2022.

On the Day of Defenders of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited a military hospital.

The Head of State visited intensive care and trauma departments. Doctors told the President about the nature of the injuries suffered by the warriors, the course of treatment and recovery.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with the wounded warriors and presented them with state awards for courage and selflessness shown in the defense of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

“Thank you for your service. I wish you a speedy recovery. From all of us, I sincerely thank you for protecting the state,” said the President.

He also met with the medical staff of the military hospital and presented state awards for dedication and professionalism, providing medical aid and saving people’s lives under martial law.

“You are also defenders of Ukraine, because you save the lives of our warriors. All warriors say that our doctors are of the highest class. I thank you and your families for having you here,” the Head of State said.