Tag: Press Release

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.

 

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 3 April 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has approved a decision to create a special mechanism of justice in Ukraine to investigate and prosecute every crime of the Russian occupiers in our country.

“The essence of this mechanism is the joint work of national and international experts: investigators, prosecutors and judges. This mechanism will help Ukraine and the world bring to concrete justice those who unleashed or in any way participated in this terrible war against the Ukrainian people and in crimes against our people,” the Head of State informed

According to the President, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the National Police, the Security Service, intelligence and other structures within their competence must make every effort to ensure that this mechanism works immediately.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also called on all Ukrainian citizens and friends of Ukraine in the world to join this work and help establish justice.

“The world has already seen many war crimes. At different times. On different continents. But it is time to do everything possible to make the war crimes of the Russian military the last manifestation of such evil on earth. Everyone guilty of such crimes will be included in a special Book of Torturers, will be found and punished,” the President noted.

In addition, the Head of State noted that all partners of Ukraine will be informed in detail about what was happening in the temporarily occupied territory of our state.

“War crimes in Bucha and other cities during the Russian occupation will also be considered by the UN Security Council on Tuesday,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 2 April 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with the economic blocs of the Office of the President and the Cabinet of Ministers.

The parties discussed the state of the Ukrainian economy in the second month of our country’s resistance to Russia’s military invasion, as well as considered forecasts for its development in the near future.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the Ukrainian state spends about $ 10 billion a month on hostilities. The sources of expenditure financing were discussed at the meeting, including own tax revenues and assistance from Ukraine’s international partners. In the same context, the prospects for the transition to a simplified taxation system scheduled for April were touched upon.

The participants of the meeting also discussed the sowing campaign, in particular the provision of fuel to farmers. Ways to diversify fuel imports and protect Ukraine’s energy infrastructure from Russian military bombing were discussed.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 2 April 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola who arrived in Kyiv.

The interlocutors discussed the coordination of European parliaments in support of Ukraine.

“I would like to sincerely thank you personally, Roberta, and all your team for the fact that at such an important moment for our country, when Ukrainians believe in deeds and concrete steps, you demonstrate heroism to come to Ukraine. And today it is heroism,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that this visit is an important step in support of Ukrainians.

The Head of State noted that the result of his previous phone conversations with Roberta Metsola was her appeal to MEPs and the world community to support Ukraine, and this is highly appreciated by the Ukrainian people.

“You have led a country of extremely brave men and women fighting for freedom and democracy. I came to Ukraine not only to confirm our solidarity, not only to continue working on the wording of our resolutions, in which we say that Ukraine is part of our European family, because you are fighting for us, for fundamental principles that the European continent has upheld for centuries. I would also like to make sure that you have everything you need to win this war. Because if you win, the whole world will win,” said Roberta Metsola.

She also said that she would like to give Ukrainians who have fled the war and found refuge in other European countries a new perspective that they will return to beautiful Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Head of State spoke about the situation on the frontline and stressed the importance of continuing and intensifying sanctions pressure on Russia. He pointed out that some sanctions turned out to be just a formality, and “holes” were quickly found in some of them.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that new sanctions packages should appear weekly and be painful for Russia until it gives up aggressive actions. At the same time, sanctions pressure on Russia must be reinforced with the defensive support for our state.

According to the President of Ukraine, the world must put pressure on Russia to force it to sit down at the negotiating table and seek peace. But this will not happen if the Russian Federation continues to feel impunity for any of its actions.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke, in particular, about Russia’s blockade of navigation in the Black Sea. According to him, this threatens global food security and may result in high prices for the exported Ukrainian agricultural products.

Finally, the Head of State awarded Roberta Metsola the Order of Princess Olga of the I degree for a significant personal contribution to the consolidation of international support for Ukraine in countering Russian aggression.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 1 April 2022.

The European Union, the United States and its allies are already working to block Russia’s cash flow from energy exports as the Kremlin’s main source of geopolitical influence. This is stated in a joint article by Adviser to the President of Ukraine on Economic Affairs Oleh Ustenko and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management Simon Johnson for Project Syndicate.

The authors note that Russia occupies a significant place in world energy markets. It supplies 40% of the gas consumed in the European Union and also exports about 2.85 million barrels of petroleum products such as diesel and aviation fuel.

“These fossil-fuel exports have enabled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its extreme violence against unarmed civilians and civilian infrastructure. Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently believes that no one can stand up to him because of the naked power that he can exert through energy markets. If the Europeans resist too much, he will cut off their gas. If the rest of the world cuts back on their purchases from Russia, the price of oil will rise – causing economic difficulties everywhere,” the article reads.

But, according to the authors, Vladimir Putin underestimated the horror his invasion of Ukraine would create, especially in Europe. The European Union will certainly no longer risk its national security by importing Russian energy. Both the United States and the EU have all the tools they need to stop Russia from being a leading player in world energy markets.

“Some EU countries are already de facto boycotting Russian oil. According to TankerTrackers.com, in February, Denmark imported just over 7.5 million barrels of crude oil from Russia by ship. But in the first 27 days of March, Denmark imported no Russian crude whatsoever. Sweden, Finland, and other countries also reported big declines in Russian crude imported by tanker. And there are increasing signs that Germany and other countries will step up to lead a full and immediate embargo on imports of Russian oil by tanker into the EU,” the article reads.

Also, according to the authors, the possibility of paying for Russian gas and oil to escrow accounts, specially frozen accounts is being considered – to ensure the euro proceeds cannot be used by Russia to buy weapons anywhere in the world.

“Putin attempted to get ahead of this development by demanding payment for gas only in rubles, but the EU has rebuffed this as a breach of contract. Germany and Austria are preparing to ration the use of gas,” the authors noted.

They also point out that it will be difficult for Vladimir Putin to reorient oil exports from the European to the Asian market. After all, as the example of oil sanctions against Iran shows, if the United States, the EU, Great Britain and Norway impose sanctions banning all forms of marine insurance for tankers carrying Russian oil and refined products, most of the world’s tanker fleets will be withdrawn from the Russian market.

“The Russians have their own tankers, of course, but their fleet is too small to move more than about one million barrels per day, particularly because a lot of the crude would need to be hauled from Murmansk, the Baltic Sea, or the Black Sea all the way to Asia. Some renegade operators may attempt to enter the business, but these activities would be tracked carefully, and ship owners, charterers, and captains would most likely face personal US and EU sanctions,” the article reads.

For its part, Ukraine has already indicated it will pursue all possible remedies against anyone complicit in the financing of war crimes.

“Once the world adjusts to living with much less Russian energy, there will be no going back. No European in their right mind wants nuclear-armed Russia to have the free cash flow that its hydrocarbon exports currently provide, because that money will allow Putin (or his successors) to rearm and become even more aggressive – perhaps attacking NATO countries next time. There is no such thing as “cheap” Russian oil and gas,” Oleh Ustenko and Simon Johnson concluded.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 1 April 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak discussed with Director General of Ukroboronprom Yuriy Husyev the work of the concern under martial law.

During the meeting, they focused on key aspects of the functioning of Ukroboronprom, identified areas that need special attention.

“Today, all enterprises of the military-industrial complex must work 24/7. To repel Russia’s aggression, the Armed Forces of Ukraine need effective work of every employee in the industry,” Andriy Yermak stressed.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 1 April 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak noted that today Ukraine is not only defending itself from Russian aggression – it is protecting the whole European world. So Europe must help. He said this in an interview to leading international media – The New Yorker, Bild and Le Monde.

Andriy Yermak said that the position of Russian troops in the Kyiv direction is currently changing, but “we can believe that only when they leave our country.”

The Head of the Office of the President also said that the blockade of the city of Mariupol is continuing. There, people are dying without food and water, and the Russian side is not opening humanitarian corridors to evacuate residents.

Instead, the Russians are trying to force people to go to Russia under the pretext of the only way to survive, as stated by Andriy Yermak.

“Mariupol is blocked. They are ready to completely destroy Mariupol just to take it under control,” he added.

According to the Head of the President’s Office, given that Russian forces continue to bomb settlements in Ukraine, including civilian infrastructure, the Ukrainian government insists on closing the skies over our country to Russian aviation, but at the same time considers this issue in a realistic manner.

Andriy Yermak emphasized: “If you hear from NATO officials every day that this will not happen, we are not even told “this is a debatable issue”, but only “it will never happen”… What to do then? We are realists. We give our partners some way out. We continue to offer our partners – it’s not just the war between Ukraine and Russia, we protect you. If something happened in Chornobyl or at ZNPP, it would be 10 times bigger than in Chornobyl, and the population of Europe would have to be evacuated. And all the nations of the world would ask their governments: “What are you doing?”

According to the Head of the Office of the President, from the very beginning of the presidential term, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team did their best to change the perception of Ukraine: from a country that constantly asks for something, to a country with which one should speak on an equal footing.

“And today we have been fighting for 36 days against one of the strongest armies in the world. We have proved to everyone that we are an important player who will have to be respected by everyone,” said Andriy Yermak.

He noted that before the Russian invasion, world leaders had ignored Ukraine’s calls for preventive sanctions, which, along with military aid, would be a major deterrent to the aggressor and could affect the situation before the war.

“We continue to talk about sanctions and turned to my good friend Michael McFaul for an analysis of sanctions. We analyze each sanction – how it works, where we are fooled, where they have learned to circumvent these sanctions. These are sanctions that must be effective quickly. Today there is a war, we pay the highest price – we pay with human lives. There is no time for lyrics and delays when our people are being killed,” said the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

Today, thanks to international restrictive measures against Russia and the successful deterrence of armed aggression by the Ukrainian army, Russia has moved from the language of ultimatums to dialogue, although this dialogue is difficult.

According to Andriy Yermak, Ukraine has always been in favor of dialogue and wants to achieve peace the most. But there are fundamental issues on which compromises are impossible.

“In Zelenskyy’s time, Ukraine will not give away a single centimeter of our territory. If Zelenskyy had been President in 2014, we would not have lost Crimea. Because everything started the same way – then and now,” he said.

According to the Head of the President’s Office, Ukraine, with its struggle for European values, freedom and justice, has once again proved that it deserves to take a worthy place among European countries. Today, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become the leader of the free world, and the entire Ukrainian nation is a true hero.

“Some nations of the world are ready for more than their politicians. People do not believe in excuses why it is now impossible to do everything necessary for Ukraine to be a member of the EU,” said the Head of the Office of the President.

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 31 March 2022.

Ukraine has received a message from the International Committee of the Red Cross that the Russian Federation confirms its readiness to open access for the humanitarian convoy to Mariupol in transit through Berdyansk. In addition, two humanitarian corridors in the Zaporizhzhia region have been agreed – from Melitopol and Enerhodar. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister – Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk.

According to her, 45 buses were sent to Mariupol along the route. In particular, as of 9:00 am, 28 buses were to be allowed to pass through the Russian checkpoint in Vasylivka. In addition, 17 buses have already departed from Zaporizhzhia.

“We will do everything possible to ensure that buses arrive in Mariupol today and pick up people who have not yet been able to get out of the city,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.

Two humanitarian corridors in the Zaporizhzhia region have been agreed. In particular, for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of people from the city of Melitopol. It is also planned to organize a column of citizens on their own transport from the city of Enerhodar to Zaporizhzhia.

Iryna Vereshchuk added that people on their own transport will be able to join the humanitarian columns from Mariupol and Melitopol on the way to Zaporizhzhia.

“Our military has fully confirmed and guarantees a full ceasefire. So, at 9:00 we will start the evacuation,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.