Tag: Press Release

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 12 September 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the residence of the Ambassador of Great Britain to Ukraine and honored the memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Head of State left a note in the book of mourning and laid flowers in the territory of the residence. Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his sincere condolences on behalf of the Ukrainian people to the United Kingdom and the countries of the Commonwealth.

“On behalf of the people of Ukraine and myself, I express sincere condolences over the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Ukrainian women and men share this great loss. We mourn with the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth of Nations and all subjects of the British Crown. The memory of Her Majesty and her selfless service to her people will forever remain in the history of mankind,” the Head of State wrote in the book of mourning.

Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak also took part in the ceremony honoring the memory of Queen Elizabeth II.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also talked with representatives of the Embassy of Great Britain in Ukraine.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 11 September 2022.

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine has been urging the world community to abandon abstract formulations and move to clear statements and concrete actions in order to achieve results and defeat the aggressor. This opinion was expressed by Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak on “VIP with Natalia Moseichuk” program on 1+1 TV channel.

“Today, Ukraine sits at the negotiating table not somewhere on the periphery, as we were used to, but in the center. And it says: no, these rules don’t work. Please stop talking about it abstractly, let’s talk clearly – that’s how it works. This is very important,” he said.

Mykhailo Podolyak recalled that for many years Ukraine has been considered a peripheral state in the world. But thanks to the resilience of the Ukrainian people and the state in the war with Russia, we began to be perceived as equal partners.

“The President has changed this paradigm. We should talk as equals. We suffer losses, we bear a certain responsibility, so why should we come and only ask for something? No, we are partners,” said the Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President.

According to him, today Ukraine has changed the formats of interstate communication and as a subject is much more powerful than before the war.

At the same time, Mykhailo Podolyak noted that from the first hours of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there was no feeling that we were in this fight alone – there was a large number of calls from foreign leaders with words of support, in particular from Great Britain and the US. He noted that the interlocutors assured that they would be there and help Ukraine.

“At first, in the first three or four days, our partners did not really believe that Ukraine would withstand the first hit. Then the support increased, the number of calls increased… But from the first day, I emphasize once again, we felt that Europe acutely perceives everything that is happening,” said the Advisor to the Head of the President’s Office.

Mykhailo Podolyak expressed the opinion that Europe and the world did not provide such powerful support before the full-scale war, in particular, because they could not fully assess the situation.

“The problems of this war are that the European analytical opinion absolutely did not understand its motives, did not predict Russia’s behavior and did not realize the strength of Ukraine. That’s why they made the wrong decisions before the war,” he is convinced.

The Advisor to the Head of the President’s Office noted that up to a certain point, civilized countries were afraid of the Russian Federation and did not want to abandon the conservative view of the bipolar world, where Russia is an element that must be taken into account.

“It had to be broken. And for a certain time the world was breaking down and did not want to admit it. And today they provide almost all types of weapons. Simply given the intensity of the war, that amount of weapons is no longer enough,” said Mykhailo Podolyak.

According to the Advisor to the Head of the President’s Office, significant changes are also taking place in Ukrainian society and the country’s political life.

“Everything will change significantly. There will be new leaders, there will be new political parties. There will be much less pro-Russian mood, no one will speculate, as OPZZh or the Party of the Regions did before, on some specifically pro-Russian slogans. There will be new forces,” Mykhailo Podolyak is convinced.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 11 September 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held a meeting with former executive chairman and CEO of Google, former executive chairman and technology advisor of Alphabet Eric Schmidt.

Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov also took part in the meeting.

Eric Schmidt has previously worked with the US Department of Defense on innovation issues, and his family has established philanthropic foundations in the areas of sustainable development and responsible use of natural resources.

Andriy Yermak thanked the businessman for the support and assistance he provided to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.

“We greatly appreciate everything you have done for our country,” he emphasized.

For his part, Eric Schmidt noted that he is happy to help Ukraine.

“What is happening in your country because of this war is terrible,” said the former CEO of Google.

The interlocutors paid special attention to opportunities for deepening cooperation.

Andriy Yermak and Eric Schmidt discussed technological solutions that could help Ukraine accelerate the de-occupation of territories, restore its territorial integrity and return to a safe and peaceful life.

The businessman also noted the importance of supporting talented youth capable of quickly changing the future.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 11 September 2022.

The creation of a tribunal on the crime of aggression is a matter not of the war in Ukraine, but of the maturity of the entire civilized world, which it lacked in 2008, when Russia came with aggression to Georgia, and in 2014, when the Russian Federation came to Crimea and Donbas. This was stated by Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Smyrnov during the panel discussion “Crime and Punishment – War Crimes, Genocide and Tribunal” at the 17th Yalta European Strategy (YES) meeting.

“I am deeply convinced that our competent authorities, the Prosecutor General, investigative bodies will bring every case of every war crime to its logical conclusion. The question that remains on the table all over the planet is the question of the courage to call international criminals international criminals. Before the mad dictators come with a territorial claim to each of your countries,” explained the Deputy Head of the President’s Office.

According to him, Ukraine is confident that there is currently no alternative to the special tribunal.

“We understand that we do not in any way overlap with the mandate and jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. We ask the world to create a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression. We urge the world not to be afraid to call a spade a spade. The crime of aggression is very easy to prove. All facts are documented both by Ukraine and international partners. The circle of people involved, in addition to Putin, is known to everyone. The proof mechanism is as simple as possible. There is no need to wait until the end of the war and the victory of Ukraine. It must be done today and now,” Andriy Smyrnov stressed.

The creation of the international tribunal was supported by President of Latvia Egils Levits. “The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court are already working on the crime of genocide. And Latvia supported this lawsuit against Russia. But we need a special tribunal that will make it possible to hold the Russian leadership accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. There are already precedents of such tribunals in the world: Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Cambodia, Sierra Leone. The most realistic way to create such a tribunal, in my opinion, is to sign an international treaty between the countries that support this idea. We are ready to sign such a treaty,” said Egils Levits.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin stated that the tribunal over the Russian leadership is not just a wish of the political leadership of Ukraine, but a demand of the entire Ukrainian society.

“The fact that Russia committed a crime of aggression against Ukraine cannot be disputed. The aggressor must be punished. Countries that do not support the idea of the tribunal probably hope for a post-war normalization of relations with Russia. But I declare with confidence that Ukrainians will not forgive this,” said Andriy Kostin.

British barrister, prosecutor in the case of Slobodan Milošević, Geoffrey Nice, noted that Ukrainians became victims of a terrible crime – the aggression of the Russian Federation.

“And like any victim, they have every right to demand justice. Therefore, it is our duty as judges, barristers and defenders of justice in all its manifestations to meet their demand. The fact that the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, unfortunately, does not extend to crimes of aggression is an absurdity, a relic of the past. However, this should not prevent the international community from fully holding Putin accountable. In my opinion, the creation of a special tribunal is the right decision. And I am sure that the whole world will support that,” Geoffrey Nice said.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 11 September 2022.

The most effective and efficient damage to Russia and its military machine will be the recognition of the Russian Federation as a state – sponsor of terrorism. This belief was expressed by Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak during a panel discussion on the introduction and application of sanctions on the aggressor country, which took place in the framework of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) annual meeting.

Former US National Security Adviser, Ambassador Michael McFaul also took part in the conversation, which was moderated by chair of the editorial board of the Financial Times Gillian Tett.

As the Head of the Office of the President noted, since the beginning of the full-scale aggression, the Ukrainian authorities, in particular with the help of the International Expert Group on Sanctions Against Russia (Yermak-McFaul Group), managed to introduce extremely tough sanctions against Russia and its military and political leadership. Export control and restrictions in other areas were applied. However, this is not enough to stop the aggressor – the world must designate the Russian Federation a state that supports and finances terrorism.

“It is a very important issue that is facing us today and on which we are working very hard. Today, it is the so-called silver bullet for the Russian military machine – designating Russia a state – sponsor of terrorism. I think the next document, which we plan to publish soon, will deal with this very issue,” Andriy Yermak said.

According to the Head of the President’s Office, designating Russia a state – sponsor of terrorism by the United States will be an extremely powerful step.

Michael McFaul, who chairs the International Expert Group on Sanctions together with Andriy Yermak, added that the issue of designating the Russian Federation a state – sponsor of terrorism must be raised constantly. According to him, as long as the Russian army is in Ukraine, Russia must get new sanctions every day.

He compared the imposition of sanctions with parking fines: “If a car is parked incorrectly, it receives a new fine every day. The same goes with sanctions: as long as the Russian army is in Ukraine, Russia should receive new sanctions every day,” said Michael McFaul.

In this context, the issue of abandoning Russian energy carriers was discussed, which, according to Andriy Yermak, although difficult, has prospects for advance.

“Of course, it is not easy for our European partners. We feel it. But the plans for a gradual – but already with quite clear terms – abandonment of Russian energy carriers look very optimistic. There is such a goal, and they really have concrete plans,” said the Head of the Office of the President.

He emphasized the importance of implementing these plans as soon as possible, because today the main income of the Russian Federation and the source of financing the military machine is the export of energy carriers.

“As long as this war continues, as long as Ukrainians are being killed every day, sanctions are definitely not enough. Russia must feel even more every day that this war will cost it very, very dearly. All Russians must feel it,” said Andriy Yermak.

The Head of the President’s Office noted that this is not only about the top leadership of the country, but also about all citizens of the Russian Federation who support the aggressive policy of their leaders. Therefore, it is necessary to apply restrictions to Russians, in particular visa restrictions.

In addition, Andriy Yermak emphasized the inadmissibility of proposals to mitigate sanctions against Russian oligarchs in exchange for their financial donation to Ukraine. Michael McFaul, for his part, called the proposed financial assistance completely insufficient.

“At a time when we are appealing to our partners to increase sanctions, it will be unfair and wrong for us to talk about any mitigation. Do we see a slowdown at the front? Do we see that they have stopped killing Ukrainians? Does someone liberate our territories of their own free will, without the success of our warriors? I think we don’t see it,” said the Head of the Office of the President.

At the same time, he reminded that today many countries are considering the adoption of special laws that would allow the use of frozen assets, primarily of Russian oligarchs, for the benefit of Ukraine.

“So if they have a desire to somehow help Ukraine, they have an easier way: they can turn to the governments of those countries where they have frozen assets and hand them over of their own free will, without delaying the process in the courts,” Andriy Yermak summarized.