Politics

As part of his visit to Turkey, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held a meeting with chief adviser to the President of the Republic of Turkey İbrahim Kalın, during which the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP was discussed. “The parties discussed the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The Turkish side expressed its readiness to contribute to international efforts to prevent a nuclear threat,” the press service of the President’s Office informs. Yermak thanked the Turkish side for their active participation in the recent release of 215 Ukrainian servicemen from Russian captivity and expressed hope…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have discussed Russia's nuclear blackmail. According to Ukrinform, Zelensky reported this on Facebook. "I talked with French President Emmanuel Macron. We discussed the importance of enhancing Ukraine's defense support. Touching on the topic of nuclear blackmail by Russia, we discussed the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, its immediate demilitarization," Zelensky said. He thanked Macron for strongly condemning illegal referendums and attempts by the aggressor to annex Ukraine's regions. Read also: France mulls delivery of more Caesar howitzers to Ukraine - media "We expect a strong reaction from the world regarding…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed gratitude to Central and Eastern European countries for supporting Ukraine’s membership in NATO. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Twitter, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “Grateful to our neighbors – countries of Central & Eastern Europe – for backing Ukraine’s membership in NATO & condemning RF’s attempt to annex Ukraine’s territories,” Zelensky wrote. In particular, the President of Ukraine thanked President of the Republic of Estonia Alar Karis, President of the Republic of Latvia Egils Levits, President of the Republic of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski, President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović,…

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak has started a visit to the Republic of Türkiye and met with the top management of Baykar, a Turkish company manufacturing Bayraktar unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), namely Haluk Bayraktar and Selçuk Bayraktar. The relevant statement was made by the Office of the President of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Yermak visited Baykar’s production facilities. He became the first foreign guest to visit Baykar’s research center, affirming its actual opening. In the course of the meeting, Yermak and Baykar’s top management discussed the current and future cooperation projects, namely…

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spares no effort to ensure the release of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Director General Ihor Murashov, who has been abducted by the Russian military. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. In a phone call, Kuleba informed IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi about Ukraine’s readiness to facilitate the rotation of IAEA experts at Zaporizhzhia NPP. “I stressed Russia must withdraw troops and military equipment from the station. He [Grossi – Ed.] assured IAEA spares no effort to ensure the release of…

Australia imposed sanctions on Russia in response to sham referenda in the temporarily captured territories of Ukraine and the attempt to annex them. “Additional targeted financial sanctions and travel bans will be imposed on 28 Russian-appointed separatists, ministers and senior officials. Among them are individuals who are flouting international law to legitimise Russia's illegal actions in Ukraine through sham referenda, disinformation and intimidation,” reads the statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia Penny Wong released today. It is underscored that Russia's sham referenda in occupied areas of Ukraine are illegitimate and have no legal effect. “The regions of Luhansk,…

Turkey did not recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea at an illegitimate referendum held in 2014 and also rejects Russia's decision to annex Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said this in a statement, Ukrinform reports. "Turkey did not recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea at an illegitimate referendum held in 2014 and emphasized on every occasion its strong support for Ukraine's territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty. In line with this position we adopted in 2014, we reject the decision by Russia to annex Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions," the ministry said. The statement also…

Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Chair of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, Simon Coveney, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Tiny Kox, and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, have condemned the illegal annexation of captured Ukrainian territories by Russia. That’s according to a joint statement, released by the CoE press service, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “The Council of Europe strongly condemns the decision of the Russian Federation to proceed with the illegal annexation of territories it currently occupies in Ukraine. The forcible change of international borders…

Ukraine is submitting an application for an expedited NATO membership. That's according to the latest address to the nation, released by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. "Ukrainians! And all our friends and allies! De facto allies. Today, here in Kyiv, in the heart of our country, we are taking a decisive step for the security of the entire community of free nations. We see who threatens us. Who is ready to kill and maim. Who in order to expand their zone of control does not stop at any savagery. On February 24, the first full-scale attack on Ukraine was carried…

Russia is trying to convince Europe that the pseudo-referenda in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine were held in accordance with international law. That’s according to Vadym Skibitskyi, spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Ukrinform reports with reference to the agency’s press service. The official says the preparation and implementation of the sham referenda spectacles were coordinated by the Russian president’s administration. Russia’s high-ranking officials were deployed in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, while officials representing Russia’s federal regions provided assistance to the so-called election commissions. The intelligence official also noted that Russia had run…