PRESS RELEASE : Give us more weapons – Andriy Yermak

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 31 March 2022.

Ukraine calls on Canada and other partners to supply weapons. This was announced by Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak during an online conversation with journalists of the Canadian Global News.

“We need more weapons. Small arms, demining systems, drones, counter-battery radars, howitzers, body armor… Everything! But first of all, we need to close the sky to protect our cities from missiles,” Andriy Yermak explained.

The situation in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, he noted, is as normal as possible in the current conditions. At the same time, there is no reason to talk about a full-fledged withdrawal of Russian troops from the Kyiv direction.

“Our people are calm, they are full of dignity and energy. Kyiv is reviving, shops are working, all services are working, public transport is working. Air alarms have already become a certain element of the current life of people in the city,” said the Head of the Office of the President.

He referred to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who said in his address that the Ukrainian side has not yet seen the Russians withdraw all their forces from the Kyiv direction. There are some movements, but it is more like a change of position or regrouping.

Andriy Yermak noted that according to one of the probable scenarios, the Russians will concentrate their forces around Donbas.

He reminded that the blockade of Mariupol continues and the situation in this city is catastrophic. Ukraine continues negotiations with many foreign leaders to unblock Mariupol as soon as possible.

Andriy Yermak stressed that the world community should continue to increase pressure on Russia. In particular, a group of Ukrainian and international experts has been set up at the President’s Office, which has already begun analyzing the real impact of sanctions against Russia and developing proposals for new effective measures.

The Head of the Office of the President also stressed the importance of increasing military assistance to Ukraine, in particular from Canada.

“Every hour of the war takes the lives of Ukrainians and causes great damage to our country,” he concluded.