Politics

President of the European Council Charles Michel invited President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to participate in person in a special meeting of the European Council, which is to be held in Brussels on February 9-10, 2023. Barend Leyts, spokesman for the European Council president, announced this on Twitter, Ukrinform reports. “The European Council president has invited President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to participate in person in a future summit of the European Council. For security reasons, no further information will be provided,” the spokesperson wrote. Read also: EU is ready to work on implementation of 10-point peace formula – European…

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva and a delegation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of the States General (Parliament) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands discussed the practical implementation of President Zelensky's Peace Formula, which will serve as a guarantee of security for the European continent. According to the President’s Office, Zhovkva thanked the Dutch Parliament for the significant assistance provided by the Dutch Parliament in countering Russian armed aggression: financial, economic, humanitarian, military, and political. “The decision of the Parliament in support of granting Ukraine the status…

Ukraine, together with more than 30 states, will initiate a high-level event at the UN Headquarters in New York on February 22, dedicated to gross violations of human rights as a result of Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine. Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Serhiy Kyslytsia, said this at the meeting of the Security Council, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. It’s been almost a year since Russia unleashed a full-scale war and plunged the center of the European continent into violence, bloodshed, and destruction, Kyslytsia recalled, adding that the focus should be on people’s needs and suffering. Read also: Lubinets:…

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, named three priority topics that Ukraine will promote at the Munich Security Conference this year: the supply of long-range missiles and combat aircraft to Ukraine, our country's membership in NATO, and the future of Russia. He announced this on the air of the national telethon, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "This Munich Security Conference will be very important. It will bring together key figures in Euro-Atlantic security issues. The focus will be on topics directly related to the security of Ukraine, Europe and the world in…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a motion on the appointment of Vasyl Maliuk as head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). A respective draft resolution was registered under No. 8425, Ukrinform reports. "In accordance with Paragraph 14 of Part 1 of Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, I am submitting a motion to appoint V. Maliuk to the post of head of the Security Service of Ukraine," the motion reads. On July 17, 2022, Zelensky removed Ivan Bakanov from the post of SBU head. The next day, the Ukrainian leader appointed the SBU's…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked Norway and personally Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre for announcing NOK 75 billion as a new five-year aid package for Ukraine. That's according to the Twitter account of the head of state, Ukrinform reports. "Grateful to the Norwegian people, the Norwegian government & personally Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre for announcing a new unprecedented 5-year assistance package to Ukraine for the sum of NOK 75 billion," Zelensky wrote. He said it was a significant contribution to the future victory over the aggressor and successful post-war recovery.

The Verkhovna Rada has designated Russia's Wagner private military company as an international criminal organization. Holos Party MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said this in a post on Telegram, Ukrinform reports. He specified that 333 lawmakers voted for a respective resolution, No. 8397, on Monday, February 6. According to the document, the Ukrainian parliament recognizes the Wagner private military company as an international criminal organization. The parliament calls on the governments and parliaments of foreign countries to take similar actions, taking into account the nature of the activities of the Wagner Group in Ukraine, the Central African Republic, Mali, Libya and Syria.…

President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced decisions and talks that will give Ukraine more international support and more weapons. He said this in his video address to the nation, Ukrinform reports. “We have already begun preparing for the events of the coming week, which could become quite significant. We are preparing decisions and negotiations that should strengthen our warriors, provide Ukraine with more international support and more weapons,” Zelensky said. Read also: Cleverly: Giving Ukraine weapons is the only path to peace He added that both public and non-public formats of work are planned. As reported, on February 3, 2023, the…

Davyd Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, has said that Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov will head the Ministry of Defense, while current Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov will be transferred to the position of minister for strategic industries. "War dictates personnel policy. Time and circumstances require strengthening and regrouping. This is happening now and will be happening in the future. Therefore: Oleksii Reznikov within the government is being transferred to the position of minister for strategic industries to strengthen the military and industrial cooperation... Major General Kyrylo Budanov will head the Ministry…

On Sunday, February 5, the National Security and Defense Council’s decision on sanctions against Russia's nuclear industry came into force. President Volodymyr Zelensky stated this in his video address to the nation, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "The National Security and Defense Council’s decision on sanctions against Russia's nuclear industry has been enacted. And this is not the last decision regarding this branch. The meaning of our steps is also to support the efforts of our diplomats to expand global sanctions on this part of the Russian aggression machine," the Ukrainian president said. He added that Russia is the only state…