U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on August 30, the White House said on Wednesday.
“President Biden looks forward to welcoming President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to the White House on August 30, 2021,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
“The visit will affirm the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in Donbas and Crimea,” she said in the statement.
In addition, according to Psaki, Zelensky’s visit to the United States will also confirm “our close cooperation on energy security and our backing for President Zelensky’s efforts to tackle corruption and implement a reform agenda based on our shared democratic values.”
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived on a two-day working visit to Germany.
According to the presidential press service, Zelensky will hold a number of meetings, in particular with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
A meeting is also planned with Head of the Christian Democratic Union, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Armin Laschet.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky by decree No. 264 has put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of June 18 on the extension and introduction of new sanctions against 55 Russian banks, payment systems and the so-called “central banks” from ORDLO at the suggestion of the National Bank of Ukraine.
According to the document posted on the website of the head of state, this list still includes, in particular, Bank of Moscow, Gazprom Bank, Bank Rossiya, Bank VTB, State Corporation VEB.RF, Sberbank Russia, as well as payment systems MoneyTo, BLIZKO, ANELIK, Kolibri.
With regard to banks that have subsidiaries in Ukraine, the restriction is to prevent the withdrawal of capital from the country.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky appointed by his decrees the Ambassadors of Ukraine to Ireland, the Principality of Monaco and Senegal.
Relevant decrees No. 177/2021, No. 178/2021, No. 179/2021 dated April 28, 2021 are released on the presidential website.
Thus, Ambassador of Ukraine to the French Republic Vadym Omelchenko was appointed as Ambassador of Ukraine to the Principality of Monaco concurrently.
Larysa Anatoliyivna Herasko was appointed as Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland; Yuriy Anatoliyovych Pyvovarov was appointed as Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Senegal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has the highest rating of trust by Ukrainians among all politicians, as 46% of respondents have said they trust him, the Sociological Group Rating found based on a public opinion poll of 2,500 respondents it conducted using the Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) method on March 26-28, 2021. Another 51% of the respondents said they mistrust Zelensky, the poll found.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko is trusted by 33% and mistrusted by 54% of the respondents, former Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman trusted by 32% and mistrusted by 58%, and Verkhovna Rada Chairman Dmytro Razumkov trusted by 31% and mistrusted by 36%, with 29% of the respondents not knowing him.
Batkivschyna party leader Yulia Tymoshenko is trusted by 29% and mistrusted by 69% of the respondents, former President and leader of the European Solidarity party Petro Poroshenko trusted by 23% and mistrusted by 75%, and Opposition Platform – For Life leader Yuriy Boiko trusted by 23% and mistrusted by 58%, with 15% of the respondents not knowing him.
The poll also found that 22% of the respondents trust and 74% mistrust former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, 22% trust and 68% mistrust Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, 16% trust and 51% mistrust Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (27% do not know him), and 15% trust and 74% mistrust Opposition Platform – For Life leader Viktor Medvedchuk (with 9% not knowing him).
Charge d’Affaires of the United States in Ukraine Kristina Kvien expressed confidence that a telephone conversation between U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will take place.
“Secretary Blinken’s remarks confirm that Ukraine will be a high priority for the administration and there’s no doubt that a call between President Biden and President Zelensky will happen,” Kvien said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
In turn, Deputy Political Counselor Lynette Behnke pointed out that the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine hopes that both presidents will be able to talk directly, that it is essential to recall that, nevertheless, much has been achieved at other levels, somewhat below the level of the leaders of the countries.
“In early February, very early in this administration, Secretary Blinken spoke to his counterpart, Foreign Minister Kuleba. Defense Minister Taran has spoken with Defense Secretary Austin. Head of the Presidential Office Yermak spoke to National Security Advisor Sullivan. Other senior officials will connect in the near future. And every day at Embassy Kyiv we are working together with our Ukrainian counterparts on our common priorities,” she explained.
Behnke noted that both the White House and Secretary of State Blinken have repeatedly stressed the United States’ commitment to supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“The Secretary made a very strong statement supporting Ukraine on the 7th anniversary of the purported annexation of Crimea. He made a special video to underline his personal commitment. The Biden administration has wholeheartedly welcomed Ukraine’s Crimean Platform initiative,” she added.
“Meanwhile, our security and development assistance continues unabated. To give a concrete example, we announced another tranche of $125 million in security assistance on March 5,” Behnke said.
