PRESS RELEASE : President met with representatives of parliamentary factions and groups of the Verkhovna Rada

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 22 February 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with representatives of parliamentary factions and groups of the Verkhovna Rada.

The meeting was also attended by Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov, Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov, Head of the Security Service Ivan Bakanov, Commander-in-Chief of the AFU Valerii Zaluzhnyi, representatives of national security and defense bodies and the economic bloc.

The participants discussed the development of the situation on the state borders of Ukraine, as well as ways to respond to the risks that have arisen due to Russia’s recognition of terrorist formations in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The Head of State initiated the formation of the country’s Defense Coalition in the Parliament and stressed the importance of its creation at this time.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the representatives of the parliamentary factions to ensure the prompt adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of decisions related to strengthening the defense capabilities of our state. In particular, this applies to amendments to the state budget to increase expenditures on financing the national security and defense sector.

“We must be aware that such decisions require an immediate response from the Parliament. Therefore, I ask the leaders of the factions to ensure that the Verkhovna Rada makes decisions that will strengthen our defense sector as fast as possible. And this is exactly what can be resolved within the Defense Coalition, when everyone will work as quickly and harmoniously as possible,” the President said.

The Head of State also initiated meetings with representatives of Ukrainian business, at which they intend to consider the creation of an investment fund to help the Ukrainian army.

“It will be very good if Ukrainian business is actively involved in helping our army, our defenders, and Ukraine’s defense sector,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The participants of the meeting discussed possible formats of mediation of our partner countries in resolving the conflict in Donbas.

The meeting took place in a constructive, objective and trust-based atmosphere. Representatives of parliamentary factions supported the initiatives proposed by the President to strengthen the defense capabilities and external support of our country.

The people’s deputies also expressed their proposals on topical issues on the agenda.