PRESS RELEASE : President at the opening of the seventh session of the Verkhovna Rada: We need the unity of all, always and in everything

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 1 February 2022.

At a solemn sitting on the occasion of the opening of the seventh session of the Verkhovna Rada of the ninth convocation, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed representatives of the three branches of government and society with a call for unity for the sake of the future of our country.

In his speech, the Head of State noted that we have often heard about unity, seldom achieved it and are in dire need of it.

“The unity of all, always and in everything. First of all, in the perception of our present, and most importantly – our future: the future of our state, the future of our generations,” said the President.

In particular, according to him, in the struggle for life and health, unity was demonstrated by 15 million Ukrainian citizens who received two vaccinations. As a result, the course of the disease is milder, fewer people are hospitalized and fewer people die.

“The unity of power yesterday during the adoption of the budget is twice the salary for doctors. The unity of power today is the normal passage of new waves (of coronavirus incidence – ed.), sufficient supply of beds, oxygen, billions of hryvnias of “eSupport” and millions of citizens who have used it,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy and thanked parliamentarians for supporting this program.

The Head of State stressed that today unity is needed both in deeds and in public statements – in the information field, in the “understanding of the media of its responsibility.”

“At a time when the media field is a new battlefield, news is a new weapon, and any messages, especially those based on anonymous sources, have a real and great impact on the mental health of our people, on our state, and especially the economy,” said the President.

In this context, Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked citizens and business representatives who were united and did not give in to the “panic virus”.

“Our economy is stabilizing, everything is under control in the financial system, budget revenues in January were overachieved by 7 billion. The hryvnia is feeling better – yesterday it strengthened by 30 kopecks, we are gradually returning to a stable and planned exchange rate,” the President said.

In addition, as the President noted, the international financial markets have been experiencing positive dynamics on Ukrainian bonds for almost a week.

“Their quotations return to their previous level, so the financial world is optimistic about the future in Ukraine,” he said.

Also, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the country has sufficient reserves of gas and coal. For the first time in 30 years, all nuclear power units are operating, so our country is using the full potential of nuclear energy.

Ukraine’s gold and foreign exchange reserves remain at a record level, which protects the national currency from sharp fluctuations and strengthens economic immunity, the President said.

In addition, there are signals of readiness to provide financial support to Ukraine from international partners.

“For them, I thank the European Union, I thank the leaders of European countries, the United States, Canada and all those who will soon be ready to announce such decisions,” said the President.