PRESS RELEASE : President has made all necessary decisions to defend the country, the Armed Forces are actively resisting Russian troops – Adviser to the Head of the Office of the President

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has approved all necessary decisions to defend the country. The Armed Forces are actively resisting the troops of the Russian Federation, which carried out a treacherous attack on our state. This was announced by Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office Mykhailo Podoliak at a briefing in the press center of the President’s Office.

“At 5 am, Mr. Putin actually declared war against Ukraine. He did it for no reason. There was no reason to declare war against Ukraine unilaterally. Only fake reasons used by Russian propaganda,” he said.

According to Mykhailo Podoliak, Russian troops using artillery systems began to bomb military infrastructure on the territory of Ukraine, airports, airfields, warehouses and military facilities of the Ukrainian army. After that, ground operations of the Russian armed forces began in part violating Ukraine’s state border in several regions.

“President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately convened the Military Cabinet, the National Security and Defense Council. All the necessary decisions were made in terms of the logistics of the counter-operation against the armed forces of the Russian Federation, and martial law was imposed in Ukraine. These are concrete actions to protect our territorial integrity,” said the Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office.

He stressed that the President is in constant contact with the leaders of the partner countries.

“Virtually the whole world unanimously believes that this is a treacherous attack by the Russian armed forces, which will have great legal consequences,” said Mykhailo Podolyak.

The Office of the President called on the citizens of Ukraine to keep calm.

“The Armed Forces are fighting hard battles, but they are fighting. We already have many results. In some areas, the Russian armed forces have been repulsed. The Armed Forces were ready for all of Russia’s scenario plans and are now actively resisting. This resistance will be growing,” said the Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office.

Mykhailo Podoliak also called on the media to carefully check the information they publish or broadcast.

“Because to date no one has canceled the information war waged by Russia against Ukraine. Unfortunately, some Ukrainian media outlets are reprinting propaganda materials of the Russian Federation,” he said.

For his part, Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office Oleksiy Arestovych noted that according to preliminary estimates, Russia’s first blow failed.

“As for cities, geography is Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kramatorsk and directly along the JFO area,” he said.

Oleksiy Arestovych noted that, according to preliminary information, the enemy slightly advanced at a distance of up to 5 kilometers in the north of the Kharkiv region and Chernihiv region. The enemy’s advance was repulsed in the Volyn direction.

According to the Adviser to the Head of the President’s Office, the losses of the Ukrainian side did not reduce the combat effectiveness of the Armed Forces and other law enforcement agencies.

“The Armed Forces are ready. The President is working. He runs the country and is in constant contact with international partners, who are now taking steps internationally to punish the Russian Federation for the full-scale military aggression it has committed,” he said.