Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and U.S. President Joseph Biden will discuss the course of hostilities and further measures aimed at supporting Ukraine during a meeting in Kiev on Monday, February 20, the press service of the Office of the President reported.
As specified, Zelensky met with Biden at the Mariinsky Palace. After introducing the members of the Ukrainian and American delegations, the presidents of Ukraine and the United States talked in a face-to-face format.
Zelensky noted that Biden’s visit was an extremely important signal of support for Ukraine and Ukrainians, and stressed that Biden personally and the entire American society have been with Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war unleashed by Russia.
“The first phone call of support for Ukraine was from the White House. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you also for the bipartisan support, for the support from Congress,” he said.
The president of Ukraine said he would talk to the U.S. president about the situation on the front lines and also about the Ukrainian people, who are going through a very difficult time.
“What we have to do to stop the war, to have success in this war, to make Ukraine even stronger and how to win this year,” he said.
For his part, Biden noted the importance of his presence in Ukraine today, which demonstrates U.S. support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“I think it would be critical to leave no doubt that the U.S. supports Ukraine in its war against brutal aggression,” he said.
The U.S. president described his intention to discuss how the United States and allies can effectively help Ukraine fight for freedom and independence. He also conveyed greetings from members of Congress. According to Biden, they were very impressed by Zelensky’s recent speech to Congress.
He also said he was glad to visit Kiev again.
“A lot has changed since the last trip. Terrible things have happened, the invasion, but at the same time, the Ukrainians have shown themselves in a way that very few nations have ever shown themselves in their defense. And they helped us understand the importance of democracy,” Biden stressed.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the information about the visit of his American counterpart Joe Biden to Kyiv.
“Joseph Biden, welcome to Kyiv! Your visit is an extremely important manifestation of support for all Ukrainians,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
In turn, the White House commented on the meeting between Biden and Zelenskyy.
“I will announce another shipment of critical equipment, including artillery munitions, anti-tank systems, and air surveillance radars, to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardment.
And I will share that later this week we will announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that try to evade or engage the Russian war machine,” the White House said in a statement on its website.
After his visit to Kyiv, the US president will travel to Poland.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky notes the acuteness of the problem of humanitarian demining and announces simplifications for business in dozens of directions.
“The agricultural sector is a very acute issue of humanitarian demining of land. At the level of the Cabinet of Ministers an interdepartmental working group has been created to ensure the implementation of this activity – clearing soil of mines and unexploded ordnance,” he said in a video message on Wednesday.
“Held an economic meeting today on preparations for spring. A lot of issues that relate to Ukraine’s economic recovery, creating economic opportunities for our people, industries,” he said.
According to Zelensky, “Businesses will get simplifications in dozens of ways. This applies to various bureaucratic permits and licenses. Steps are also being prepared to create jobs. Every job is an aid to our resilience and a way for our people to come back to Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes it is important for the country to have meaningful relations with the entire region. Southeast Asia and with every state in the region.
In a video address on Monday, noting a telephone conversation with the president of the Philippines, he said that “Ukrainian diplomacy has a clear task – to reach out to all regions of the world, where our position is not yet sufficiently represented, to make Ukraine and Ukrainian interests understandable to all those states and peoples with whom we do not yet have stable relations.”
“This applies to Asian directions as well as to Africa and Latin America,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the beginning of his visit to Great Britain noted his gratitude to the British people for the support provided to Ukraine.
“Great Britain was one of the first to come to the aid of Ukraine. And today I’m in London to personally thank the British people for their support and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for his leadership,” Zelensky wrote on his Telegram Channel Wednesday.
Earlier, Zelensky landed at Stansted Airport on a Royal Air Force plane. He is scheduled to meet with Britain’s King Charles III, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Ukrainian military.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has called on the Georgian leadership to release Ukrainian citizen and former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.
“Right now a Ukrainian citizen, former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is being slowly killed. The very fact that we still have to fight such an attempt to de facto publicly execute a man in Europe in the XXI century – it’s a shame!”, – wrote Zelensky in his twitter.
In this regard, he called on the Georgian authorities to implement the obligations under European norms of human rights protection and to release Saakashvili.
“Given the threat to his life, I call on the Georgian authorities to remember their obligations under the European norms of human rights protection, stop the abuses and release Mikhail! Ukraine has offered solutions. I call on the world to help save Mikhail’s life and prevent his execution,” the president wrote.
Earlier in Kiev, during a press conference with the head of Austria Alexander Von der Bellen, Zielenski showed journalists the photos of the emaciated former president of Georgia, which he had been given and expressed his confidence that the Georgian leadership intends to kill Mikheil Saakashvili.
As it was reported, Saakashvili secretly arrived in Georgia on September 29, 2021. On October 1, he was detained in Tbilisi, after which he was placed in a prison in the city of Rustavi, where he went on hunger strike. On November 8, he was transferred from the Rustavi prison to the prison hospital in Tbilisi (Gldani district) without the consent of his relatives and lawyers. On November 20, Saakashvili was transferred to a military hospital in the city of Gori, where he ended his hunger strike. On May 12 last year, Saakashvili was admitted to the Vivamed civilian clinic in Tbilisi, where he remains today.
On February 1, at a trial on the possible postponement of his prison sentence, Saakashvili said via video link that he was in extremely serious condition and required the necessary treatment. After he tried to take off his shirt and show them his emaciated body, the video link was cut.
In Georgia, the ex-president is being prosecuted in several criminal cases. He considers his detention illegal and the accusations against him trumped up.
