PRESS RELEASE : The unification of local authorities has made it possible to significantly strengthen the defense of our state – President of Ukraine

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 5 April 2022.

The central government has made great efforts to ensure that the heads of regional state administrations form joint teams with mayors and representatives of law enforcement agencies at the local level, and this has significantly strengthened the defensive position of our state. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview to the Ukrainian media.

“We must openly say that we were all working on it. Strongly, with calls, with screams. However, these teams have emerged. And their cities can be proud of them today, and there are no questions to them,” the Head of State said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that some mayors failed to demonstrate resilience during the war, but thanks to teamwork, they returned to full duty.

“We united these teams, many mayors came to their senses and started working in three or four days. And then they said: sorry, we were really just not ready. We talked in a human way, today everything is fine,” he said.

The President noted that many heads of regional state administrations have now become professional “war managers”.

“No head of the regional state administration ran anywhere. Honestly, I don’t think we had such a staffing approach. But it turned out that these people are just powerful. And they are all on the ground, all heads of regional state administrations,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

According to the Head of State, some leaders of territorial communities have shown themselves to be strong and courageous people and even gave their lives for our homeland.

“Unfortunately, we lost several of them. They were killed. They were tortured. After the war, we will sit down and at the regional level will tell how many calls with such people we had, how many things happened as it was. How they deceived the enemy, it was daily. “Several times we “buried” these people, took them out, then brought them in so that they could appear in the squares as a symbol for the people that they are there,” the President said.

He stressed that the mayors had become “flag people” who supported the inhabitants of the communities during the difficult times of the war.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that many business representatives also stayed in Ukraine and supported citizens and the military on a volunteer basis.

“I am very grateful to all these people, no matter what business they represent – small, medium, large. All the same, they are doing great,” the Head of State said.

However, he noted that there were also entrepreneurs who went abroad allegedly for the sake of one or another activity, allegedly for the sake of Ukraine.

According to the Head of State, Ukrainian oligarchs also showed various qualities during the war.

“They behaved differently. We will draw conclusions when we win. Someone suddenly became a hero, and someone ceased to be a strong man,” the President concluded.