Tag: Press Release

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

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva met with a delegation of the informal international network United for Ukraine, which included representatives of the national parliaments of Lithuania, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden and Spain.

Ihor Zhovkva noted the efforts of the association, which now has more than 280 former and current deputies and high-ranking officials from more than 30 countries, to promote the Ukrainian agenda both within the authorities and societies of their countries and internationally.

The Deputy Head of the Office of the President briefed European politicians on the current security situation in Ukraine. He expressed hope that foreign parliamentarians would continue to make every effort for their countries to promptly supply the weapons Ukraine needs, as well as to impose sanctions on Russia.

The issue of granting our country the status of a candidate for EU membership during the European Council meeting on June 23-24 this year was discussed separately.

“It is gratifying that all the deputies present here, even from Germany, support granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership already in June. The adoption of such a formal decision at the upcoming meeting of the European Council is the key to the victory of our country in the war against Russia,” said Ihor Zhovkva.

The Deputy Head of the Office of the President praised the network’s efforts to rebuild Ukraine, as well as its proactive role in bringing the Russian military to justice for crimes committed in Ukraine. In this context, Ihor Zhovkva called on the parliaments of the member states to call things by their names and recognize Russia’s crimes in Ukraine as genocide of the Ukrainian people, and Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

“This is not only a question of historical justice, but also an important legal basis for the activities of the postwar international tribunal,” said Ihor Zhovkva.

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

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko held a meeting with representatives of theUNICEF on the restoration of educational and children’s institutions that had been destroyed or damaged as a result of the Russian invasion.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko informed the UNICEF representatives about the plan to restore infrastructure in the affected regions of Ukraine. This plan consists of 16 clusters (houses, schools, kindergartens, sports facilities, roads).

“We need a rapid recovery plan that will help us rebuild homes, kindergartens and medical infrastructure. This is the infrastructure we want to rebuild now, without delay,” said the Deputy Head of the Office of the President.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko informed about the number of schools that were completely destroyed or damaged during the enemy shelling.

He stressed that the Ukrainian authorities are negotiating with representatives of private business and non-governmental organizations that may be involved in financing the restoration of educational infrastructure.

The Deputy Head of the President’s Office told about the projects to rebuild schools that are planned to be implemented with the participation of private investors.

For her part, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Response Afshan Khan said that the organization supports fundraising initiatives for new equipment and educational materials for Ukrainian schools, as well as training for teachers.

UNICEF representatives stressed the need to use new design decisions and build inclusive spaces when renovating schools and kindergartens.

The Deputy Head of the Office of the President also informed about the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which provides for the patronage of Ukraine’s partner countries to restore the regions of our country affected as a result of the Russian invasion.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 10 June 2022.

The reconstruction of housing destroyed by the Russian occupiers should include not only the construction of new buildings, but also the construction of a new, modern Ukraine, which at a high price has gained its independence and the way to the future. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an online conversation with students of universities in the UK.

“I really want people to return to their native country, to their native streets, but to a slightly different Ukraine, which has already gained independence and a future for itself. I really want this future to be mentally not in Stalin’s apartments, but in the independent Ukrainian space. And at the physical level there will be large construction and restoration of our state,” he said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that it is planned to restore all residential buildings that were destroyed as a result of the Russian invasion, and such reconstruction will depend on global financial support.

“Now is the moment of truth, now is the war. And when we win, we will build our new state, not forgetting our wonderful history and our traditions,” the President said.

The President stressed that building a new, modern state is impossible without the active participation of young people who will offer their vision of the future of Ukraine.

“I can’t build a comfortable state for you without you. I can build a state for all of us, for our generation, for the elderly. We can build a modern country, but it is impossible to build the future without the younger generation,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

He noted that despite the modernity and creativity, the Ukrainian authorities cannot see tomorrow as young people can.

“We cannot look ahead and see the future as transparently as you. Each generation is better than the previous one, more modern than the previous one. I can’t offer you anything. I can help you realize your dreams and your Ukraine, your vision of the future,” the President stressed.

Students and professors from leading British universities, including the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge, City, University of London, Coventry University, University of Glasgow, University of Manchester, University of Oxford, University College London, etc. took part in the meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Representatives of the British media were present at several universities.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 10 June 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom Ben Wallace, who is in Kyiv on a working visit.

The President thanked the Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom for the effective support for Ukraine by the British government in our fight against Russian aggression. Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Great Britain is a true friend of Ukraine. This was especially evident after the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked brutal aggression against our state.

“The war has shown who our real friends and partners are. Not only strategic, but also those effective today. One of such friends is the United Kingdom,” said the President.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed Ben Wallace about the urgent needs of Ukraine’s defense forces in terms of heavy weapons.

The Head of State stressed: “Today the key priority for us is to quickly obtain heavy weapons. This is important in order to defeat the Russian aggressor, to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

During the meeting, the issues of security guarantees for our state were discussed separately. An exchange of views took place on possible ways to unblock Ukrainian ports to prevent a global food crisis.

For his part, Ben Wallace assured Volodymyr Zelenskyy of continuing defense support for Ukraine and stressed the importance of restoring the territorial integrity of our state.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 10 June 2022.

First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska took part in the online format of the conference “Women in Conflicts”. The event took place in Brussels and was organized by the European Union together with the UN Women. The conference focuses on the situation of women at the epicenter of war, justice, and women’s leadership in difficult life circumstances. The first part of the conference was held in New York on September 21, 2021.

Olena Zelenska was invited to participate in the event by President of the European Council Charles Michel who has visited Ukraine several times since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

During the speech, the First Lady showed photos and told the stories of Ukrainian women related to Russia’s war against our state.

“I don’t want to and can’t talk about the war in the language of statistics and numbers. Fates are lost behind them. We already have real symbols of our war,” said the wife of the President of Ukraine.

The First Lady was joined by other female leaders, including Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Iraqi human rights activist Nadia Murad, a survivor of ISIS slavery and torture. She also co-organized the event.

The President’s wife also noted the great role of Ukrainian women in resisting the Russian invasion: “They cannot be called passive victims, each of them has her own story of resistance. Most of our doctors are women. 50% of our entrepreneurs are women, and they work to support the economy. There are 37,000 women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. More than a thousand women have already become commanders. For example, history teacher Liubov Plaksiuk is the first Ukrainian woman to lead an artillery unit and is currently fighting in Donbas. There is such a popular question: what is your superpower? So, each of our women can answer: my superpower is that I’m Ukrainian! And this is no exaggeration. Our women are superheroes who are bringing the victory closer with every day of their lives.”

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 10 June 2022.

Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak met with President of Yahad-In Unum Father Patrick Desbois.

The meeting included an online conference with Andriy Yermak, Patrick Desbois and representatives of the Simon Wiesenthal Center on the investigation of Russia’s war crimes during the invasion of Ukraine.

On behalf of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Head of the Office of the President thanked the representatives of Yahad-In Unum for their efforts to record the crimes of the Russian occupiers in Ukraine.

Andriy Yermak stressed that criminals who invaded our country must be punished, and this is fundamentally important not only for Ukraine, but also for the whole world. After all, other potential aggressors must realize that evil always loses, and criminals are punished.

“In the process of this work, your experience and your efforts to gather evidence and testimony are very useful for Ukraine. We will also find the experience of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which hunted Nazis around the world, very useful. And it is extremely important for Ukraine to involve this organization in the work to bring to justice Russian war criminals,” said the Head of the President’s Office.

Andriy Yermak noted that today it is necessary to document every crime committed by the Russian occupiers in Ukraine and to draw the attention of as many representatives of the international community as possible to this.

The participants of the meeting stressed that humanity should have forever remembered the terrible pages of the tragedy of Babyn Yar, which took thousands of lives. However, today the Russian aggressor, who neglects not only the norms of international law, but also the basics of morality, continues to exterminate Ukrainians.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 7 June 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak met with the ambassadors of the G7 countries.

He informed the heads of diplomatic missions about the results of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the frontline positions of the Ukrainian troops. Emphasizing that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have a high morale and motivation, Andriy Yermak drew attention to the quantitative advantage of the Russian aggressor in armaments and military equipment. He called on the ambassadors of the G7 countries to assist in speeding up the supply of the necessary weapons by the governments of their countries for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This should speed up Ukraine’s victory in this brutal, unprovoked war unleashed by Russia.

“We have a clear understanding that victory for us means the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” said the Head of the President’s Office.

He suggested intensifying work to raise awareness of partners about the defense needs of our country, in particular by holding regular briefings for military experts of interested countries, organizing visits of journalists to the front and more.

During the meeting the issue of post-war reconstruction of our state was discussed. Andriy Yermak informed about the initiative of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which envisages taking patronage over individual cities or regions of Ukraine by partner countries with ensuring full control over the use of financial resources. The G7 countries were invited to actively participate in this initiative.

Andriy Yermak informed about the results of the expert group’s work on making recommendations on imposing sanctions against the aggressor, as well as on the state of formation of two more advisory groups – on post-war security guarantees for Ukraine and on reparations.

The importance of ensuring progress on Ukraine’s path to membership in the European Union was emphasized. The most important at this stage should be the decision of EU leaders at the European Council session on June 24 to grant Ukraine candidate status.

The participants of the meeting exchanged views on ways to restore full-fledged exports of Ukrainian grain, in particular through the Black Sea ports of our country.

The parties agreed on the importance of holding regular briefings for G7 ambassadors, in particular with the participation of senior government officials, in order to exchange views on topical issues of domestic and foreign policy agenda.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 7 June 2022.

The financial resources provided by the EU, the United States and other allies of Ukraine to support our citizens fleeing Russian aggression in other countries should be used to encourage these refugees to return home. This is stated in a joint article by adviser to the President of Ukraine on economic issues Oleg Ustenko and professor at MIT Sloan and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund Simon Johnson for the American newspaper Los Angeles Times.

“More than 6.5 million Ukrainians escaped the country and found amazing support in neighboring countries, including EU countries, as well as non-EU countries such as Moldova and Norway. Taking care of refugees is expensive — they need food, shelter, schooling, healthcare and other services. Many countries have also provided daily cash allowances,” the article reads.

Although part of this cost has been borne by philanthropists, the budgetary cost to EU governments is at least 60 billion euros per year (about 10,000 euros per person), as stated by the authors.

Some Ukrainian refugees, in particular IT specialists, continue working remotely even while outside Ukraine. Hence, they are able to earn income and support our economy. But many jobs in Ukraine still do not provide opportunities for remote work.

“Overall, on its current course, the economy is likely to decline by at least 40% this year compared with 2021 and, until the refugees return home, a sustained recovery is hard to achieve,” the authors predict.

According to the article, as of now, 30,000 people are returning to Ukraine every day. They can be productively employed to rebuild and repair the economy, but the government is hard-pressed to support them and their wages. The government budget is already running a monthly deficit of around 5 billion euros to cover war-related spending.

“That’s why it would make sense to have some of the EU financial support for refugees made available to them when they return to Ukraine,” the authors emphasize.

Oleg Ustenko and Simon Johnson name three possible ways to implement such support.

“One approach is to let refugees bring their cash benefits back with them to Ukraine for a limited period, such as six months. Another is to provide additional resources to the Ukrainian government to hire more people for rebuilding work,” the article reads.

Both these policies will pull more refugees home, but the process may be slow. According to the experts, easier and more effective would be for the Ukrainian government to use this funding, received from the EU, to create a temporary basic income program for all Ukrainians in the country.

“A modest cash grant program would help millions now struggling to feed their families stay in their communities and increase economic activity,” Oleg Ustenko and Simon Johnson noted.

According to them, if half of the more than 6 million Ukrainian refugees were to return home, European governments could significantly reduce their refugee spending and redirect tens of billions of euros into uses that would have long-term benefits for Ukraine. Any such program could be wound down as Russian forces are expelled from Ukrainian territory and the economy stabilizes.

“We don’t know how long this war will last. The devastation wrought by Russia’s invasion remains incalculable. Eventually, Ukraine, a country of around 40 million, will need international assistance and support to rebuild. Shoring up its economy and beginning that process should start now,” the authors conclude.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 7 June 2022.

First Lady Olena Zelenska called on the world, and in particular the United States, not to get used to Russia’s war against Ukraine, because if that happens, the war will never end. The President’s wife stated this in an interview for the American TV channel ABC, which she gave in Kyiv.

The conversation was interrupted for 40 minutes by an air alarm – this episode was also seen by American viewers.

“I really want the whole world, and Americans as well, not to get used to this war. Yes, it is far from you, it lasts long, and you can get tired of it, but please do not get used to it, because if everyone gets used to it, this war will never end. Don’t get used to the pain. And when you start thinking that there may be some reason for this war, it means that you are in the zone of Russian propaganda. Be careful, hear the truth,” she said.

Olena Zelenska also stressed that Ukraine is not ready to give up its territories in exchange for “peace”, as some Russian and world politicians suggest: “We are not ready to give up our territories. You can’t lose your territory and be calm in the future. The aggressor will not stop at part of our territory, they will not stop until they destroy us. So we have no choice – we must fight for our independence.”

The First Lady is convinced that Ukrainians will endure this war. But today our citizens are experiencing terrible tragedies.

“There are children who have seen their parents being killed. Here, in the Kyiv region, for example, there are boys who saw their mother killed and had to bury her themselves,” she said.

According to the President’s wife, Russian soldiers are resorting to destruction and violence, because Russia’s goal is to “destroy everything that makes us Ukrainians and distinguishes us from them.”

The First Lady also spoke about the National Program of Psychological Assistance to War Victims, which was launched at her initiative.

“The big problem is that Ukrainians are not used to consulting a psychologist, so we need a large-scale communication campaign,” she said.

In addition, Olena Zelenska noted the great role of Ukrainian women in this war, each of whom does her best for the victory: “I have always been convinced that Ukrainian women are the best. And finally the world will see the face of a Ukrainian woman.”

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 7 June 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak met with the parliamentary delegation of the Republic of Korea headed by Leader of the ruling People Power Party Lee Jun-seok.

At the beginning of the event, Andriy Yermak stressed the importance of the Korean delegation’s visit to Ukraine at this crucial time for our country, and thanked for Korea’s consistent support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The Head of the President’s Office noted that today our country’s main task is to win this unprovoked war started by Russia.

According to Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s goal is to achieve peace as soon as possible, because the longer the war lasts, the greater the risks for the whole world. At the same time, he stressed that our country especially needs military assistance to win.

“We are confident that this will be our victory and the victory of our friends and partners,” said the Head of the President’s Office.

During the meeting, the parties noted the importance of the fact that the high-level Korean delegation saw the situation in Ukraine personally, as well as visited Bucha and Irpin, where it had an opportunity to see the consequences of horrific war crimes committed by Russian invaders.

This visit and its results will also help identify key areas for further deepening cooperation between the two countries, in particular during the reconstruction of Ukraine’s regions, which have suffered enormous damage as a result of the war.

In this context, Andriy Yermak announced the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to invite democracies to take patronage over a region or a city in Ukraine that needs to be restored, and invited the Korean side to join this ambitious project.

The Head of the Office of the President and the delegation of the Republic of Korea also discussed some promising areas of post-war cooperation, in particular in the field of innovative automotive industry. Andriy Yermak suggested discussing these and other potentially interesting joint projects during a video conference with members of the government and business representatives of the two countries.

Separately, Andriy Yermak touched upon the issue of work carried out by the Ukrainian side together with partners in the development of a multilateral agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine.