During a telephone conversation, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Poland Andrzej Duda agreed to exchange visits and hold a number of events dedicated to the landmark anniversary dates of Ukrainian-Polish relations, the 30th anniversary of Poland’s recognition of Ukraine’s independence, the establishment of diplomatic relations and the signing of the Treaty on friendship and cooperation.“The sides exchanged views on the difficult situation that has developed on the Polish-Belarusian border. The head of the Ukrainian state informed about the security situation on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border and the measures that are being carried out and will be taken for its proper protection,” the presidential press service has said.Particular attention was paid to coordinating the positions of the parties in countering the Nord Stream 2 project. The interlocutors were unanimous in their assessments of Nord Stream 2 primarily as a security threat and confirmed their unwavering commitment to further opposition to the project.“This is in the interests of the energy security of Europe as a whole,” Zelensky said.It is noted that the heads of state paid special attention to promising projects of cooperation in the energy sector, in particular, to establish alternative routes for gas supplies.Zelensky briefed Duda about the development of the security situation in eastern Ukraine.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky calls on the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy to intensify an information campaign on the importance of vaccinating citizens against coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.
According to the presidential press service, Zelensky made a statement during a conference call on countering the pandemic on Monday.
“All resources, available methods and sources must convey to various segments of the population about importance of protection against COVID-19. People who are vaccinated not only protect themselves from a severe course in case of illness, but they protect the environment, in particular their family members,” Zelensky said.
It is noted that during the meeting, the Health Ministry along with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy was separately instructed to launch a campaign to vaccinate pensioners and also strengthen the information direction.
“Now in Ukraine, out of 11 million pensioners, about 25% are vaccinated. Volodymyr Zelensky suggested considering the possibility of involving business representatives to the aforementioned information campaign of Ukrposhta,” the press service said.
The special attention during the meeting was paid to the issue of combating the counterfeiting of certificates of negative PCR tests and certificates of vaccination. According to Chief of the National Police Ihor Klymenko, some 13 searches were carried out over the past week, some 12 criminal proceedings were initiated.
There is already the first court decision on the recovery of a fine in the amount of UAH 34,000 from a doctor from Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region and deprivation of the right to work in the specialty for one year.
In addition, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the number of Ukrainians with COVID-19 continues to grow, in particular, some 64,606 COVID-19 cases were registered in the previous week, which is almost 20,000 more than a week earlier.
“To date, the dynamics of the development of the disease completely coincides with the previous peak of morbidity. Despite the fact that the growth of sick and hospitalized patients has slowed down somewhat, as of now, 22,500 beds are already occupied by people with confirmed COVID-19 and with suspicion,” the head of the government said.
He said that slightly less than 50% of the available places for COVID-19 patients are already occupied in Ukraine, but there are areas where the situation is of concern. According to the analysis of the Health Ministry, there are more infected in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv and Odesa regions. In total, there are 138,500 active patients in Ukraine today.
“The head of state has set the government the task of ensuring in the near future an increase in the number of beds in regions where there is a rapid increase in the incidence of coronavirus,” the office said.
COVID-19, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE, PRESIDENT ZELENSKY, VACCINATION
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has announced the success of infrastructure development in Ukraine, as well as digitalization, the press service of the president of Ukraine has reported.
“In these two and a half years, we have started the digitization of the state. We are number one in Europe today. And the Servant of the People party was involved in that as well,” the presidential press service quoted Zelensky as saying when speaking in Truskavets on Saturday, where a visiting session of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction was taking place.
Zelensky added that Ukraine is also the first in Europe in terms of road construction now. “Statistically, we build the most per month. Number one in Europe!” the President noted.
The Head of State also noted the liquidation of the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate.
“So be a little proud of yourself and the difficult path. When we talk about land reform, there are many questions about how slow it is. But I believe that this is a challenge and a victory, on which I want to congratulate you,” the President said.
He noted that there are many challenges in the field of medicine in the country, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “But today I see a medical team. We have elected a minister, a committee is working, and we are ready for challenges,” Zelensky stressed.
The President also stressed that the Office of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have done a lot for Ukraine’s international agency, and this is the most important victory this year.
“A lot yet not enough. Why not enough? I will explain. We do not have time to expect that we will be taken to the European Union: ‘let’s wait another five years.’ You know we have a war. I do not want to complain. I think we are powerful. And today our policy is ‘brazen’. And I am convinced that without a strong international policy, without such ‘boldness’ no one will see Ukraine’s steps forward,” he said.
In addition, the presidential press service noted that working groups with the participation of deputies and ministers (eight clusters) on the details of the Plan of Transformation of the country initiated by him in the following areas: military security and international relations; energy independence and “green” transformation, human capital, technological development and market transformations, infrastructure and local development, food hub, digital hub and rule of law.
“These clusters contain goals and KPIs for relevant areas until 2023, projects and reforms to be implemented, and laws to be enacted,” the message reads.
DIGITALIZATION, INFRASTRUCTURE, POLITICS, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE, PRESIDENT ZELENSKY
The decree of President Volodymyr Zelensky on planting 1 billion trees within three years will be implemented, it will be implemented on 170,000 hectares, the total cost of the project is about UAH 2 billion, Head of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine Yuriy Bolokhovets has said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine. “For planting 1 billion trees, about 170,000 hectares are needed. We have already found up to 100,000 hectares of our own territories that require afforestation. These are sites of fire, areas where forests have been destroyed as a result of various factors. Another 70,000 hectares are land of local authorities, the head of the agency said.
He said that the State Forest Resources Agency proposed that the territorial communities, which land plots were in the zone of implementation of the Green Country presidential program, either plant a forest on its territory, or transfer these plots to the agency for afforestation. According to Bolokhovets, today, more than 20,000 hectares are in the process of being transferred from the communities to the enterprises of the State Forest Resources Agency.
“The second question is financing. We need UAH 2 billion for three years. I am absolutely sure that the forest industry, due to going from the shadows and more efficient work, is able to earn this money itself. And we will do it,” the head of the agency said.
Bolokhovets said that planting 1 billion trees is necessary to minimize the effects of global climate change, create protective belts of trees to protect against dust storms, as well as increase the country’s forest cover from the current 15.9% to the minimum required 20%.
The head of the State Forest Resources Agency also noted the increase in the procurement of seed material for forest reproduction several times. His agency is also creating infrastructure for large-scale seeding and building nurseries for growing quality planting material.
“This year we have already significantly increased the planting in comparison with previous years. Next year, we will at least double the planting. I am absolutely convinced that we will implement the President’s task,” Bolokhovets said.
PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE, PRESIDENT ZELENSKY, STATE FOREST RESOURCES AGENCY, TREES
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with Apple CEO Tim Cook the census project and the Ukrainization of Siri’s personal assistant, the press service of the Ukrainian leader said.
“It was about the population census project, which Apple successfully implemented in the United States, and the possibility of cooperation in the implementation of a similar task in Ukraine,” the press service said.
The parties also discussed the possibility of Apple building a data center for iCloud services in Ukraine, following the example of the center, which was built in Denmark. They also touched upon the Ukrainian localization of Apple products, including Siri personal assistant.
Zelensky told Cook about the achievements of our country in the IT sphere and expressed interest in further expanding Apple’s presence in Ukraine, in particular through online support teams, Apple Music and AppStore moderators, as well as device maintenance service.
“Today Ukraine is a powerful global IT hub. Our specialists successfully cooperate with Fortune 500 companies, including Apple,” he said.
The head of state presented the Diia.City project to the Apple CEO.
In addition, during the meeting, the parties discussed the possibility of cooperation in the direction of education in the field of programming for schoolchildren, students, veterans, medical workers, as well as providing schools and teachers with computers to support those programs that are already being implemented in Ukraine.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, by his decree, put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of July 30, 2021 On the Strategy of Ukraine’s Foreign Policy.
The corresponding decree No. 448/2021, together with the decision of the NSDC and the text of the Strategy, was published on the website of the head of state on Thursday, August 26 and comes into force from the day of its publication.
According to the decree, the secretary of the Council Oleksiy Danilov is responsible for the implementation of the NSDC decision.
The strategy contains the main priorities and strategic goals of Ukraine’s foreign policy: the state’s course towards membership in the EU and NATO, restoration of territorial integrity and countering Russian aggression, promotion of Ukrainian exports and attraction of investments, cooperation with other states and international organizations, etc.
FOREIGN POLICY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE, PRESIDENT ZELENSKY, STRATEGY
