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Official account of the Parliament of Ukraine 🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine #StopRussianAggression
Following the meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the 75th NATO Summit in Washington, the Heads of State and Government have adopted a final communiqué.
The communiqué states, in particular, the following:
📌 reaffirming unwavering solidarity with the people of Ukraine in their heroic defence of their nation, their land and their shared values
📌establishing the NATO Security Assistance and Training Ukraine (NSATU) Programme to coordinate the provision of military equipment and training to Ukraine by Allies and partners;
A commitment to long-term security assistance to Ukraine.
Allies also noted that Ukraine's future lies in NATO. They noted that Ukraine is becoming increasingly interoperable and politically integrated with the Alliance, as well as the concrete progress made by Ukraine since the Vilnius Summit on the necessary democratic, economic and security reforms.
📍Full text of the communiqué
The First Vice-Speaker Oleksandr Korniienko
🇺🇦🇮🇹 A substantive meeting with the Minister of Education and Merit of the Italian Republic, Giuseppe Valditara.
We focused on the educational needs of Ukrainian children. Italy has sheltered 191,000 internally displaced persons from Ukraine. Of these, 60 thousand are minors. 21,000 children were enrolled in Italian schools.
✍️ For two years in a row, with the assistance of the Italian authorities, Ukrainian children have been taking the National Multiple Subject Test (NMT) in Rome and Milan. We are very grateful for this help!
However, for a significant number of children who are already integrated into Italian schools, it is quite difficult to continue their studies under the Ukrainian educational programme at the same time.
🏫 I took this opportunity to ask the Italian Government to consider opening a Ukrainian secondary school in one of the country's cities. I know that this initiative is supported by our Ministry of Education.
The Deputy Speaker Olena Kondratiuk
🇺🇦🇻🇦 In the Vatican! I met with the Secretary for Relations between States and International Organisations of the Holy See, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher. He is responsible for the Vatican's foreign policy.
The conversation began with a discussion of the tragic events in Ukraine. The Vatican has been deeply affected and shocked by the escalation of shelling of Ukraine and the attack on the Okhmatdyt children's hospital.
At the same time, I expressed my gratitude for the consistent and unwavering support of Ukraine by the Vatican in the face of russia's armed aggression. In particular, in international organisations and in the provision of humanitarian aid.
🙏 Noted the success of the Vatican's efforts to return Ukrainian prisoners of war and deported children. The recent release of two Ukrainian Greek Catholic priests from russian captivity was due to the efforts and mediation of the Vatican.
The Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk
🇺🇦🇺🇸 Another important meeting was with Tom Emmer, the Deputy Leader of the Republican Party in the US House of Representatives.
It is extremely important for Ukraine, which has been resisting russian aggression for three years in a row, to maintain and develop cooperation with true friends and allies. We appreciate the bipartisan and bicameral support of the US Congress.
We discussed issues related to further assistance from the United States. We talked about air defence systems, long-range missiles, artillery systems and shells. Of course, Ukraine is grateful to the United States for its support and leadership in helping Ukraine.
We also discussed the importance of permanently lifting all restrictions on the use of allied weapons to target russian military targets.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk
As a member of the Supervisory Board of the Higher School of Public Administration, I joined the meeting where the results of the first half of this year were presented.
First of all, I thanked for the thorough presentation and noted that the School is becoming a hub for the development of public servants, which is definitely an advantage in the face of today's challenges.
One of the criteria for Ukraine's membership in the EU is the readiness of public administration to join. It is important to cooperate with U-LEAD and relevant projects, to build capacity, in particular, we always talk about language skills. But the next level is European law. And not academic, but practical.
Our partners are already saying that they will support us with technical projects. Therefore, I urged us to intensify our work with those who have already confirmed this and to look for other opportunities to participate in programmes.
The First Vice Speaker Oleksandr Korniienko
🇺🇦🤝🇮🇹 I met with Anna Ascani, the Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament.
She supports Ukraine and is very empathetic to Ukrainians.
During the meeting, I appealed on the behalf of the Verkhovna Rada to the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament to adopt a resolution condemning the deportation of Ukrainian children as a state policy of the russian federation.
We cannot stand aside from the abduction and forced adoption of Ukrainian children, their "re-education" in so-called holiday camps, and military training to replace their Ukrainian identity with the russian one.
Anna Ascani assured me that she would take personal responsibility for the preparation and advocacy of such a resolution and would oversee the issue of the return of Ukrainian children in both chambers of the Italian Parliament.
The Deputy Speaker Olena Kondratiuk
🇺🇦🇺🇸 Met with the Leader of the Republican Party in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell.
First of all, I noted that the adoption of the latest international aid package was critically important for Ukraine. And I am grateful for Mitch McConnell's personal efforts in this regard.
I also noted that Ukraine greatly appreciates the bipartisan and bicameral support of the US Congress.
During the conversation, we discussed the security situation. The situation on the frontline is difficult, russia is increasing its mobilisation resources and launching missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Therefore, Ukraine needs more support and more weapons. I voiced the needs, including air defence systems and ammunition, F-16 aircraft, and anti-drone systems.
Also, given russia's constant shelling of Ukrainian frontline cities, it is very important to get permission from our partners to strike at russian military targets. I called for this.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk
Sanctions are an effective way to stop the russian war machine, which breathes gas, has oil in its veins, and uses any economic sphere to fuel violence and finance the war.
Today's agenda includes a complete embargo on oil and gas exports, an embargo on imports of agricultural products and fertilisers from russia and belarus, a ban on the export of magnesium ores, and the closure of sanctions circumvention channels.
And I hope for the strong support of the parliaments of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in this matter.
Another area of countering russia is the use of frozen russian assets to support and rebuild Ukraine. At the same time, it is crucial to demonstrate leadership at the national level.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk
🇺🇦 We won medals at the European Athletics Championships in Rome, — the Committee of Youth and Sports.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh defended her European title, clearing 2.01m in the second attempt.
Iryna Gerashchenko won the bronze medal, repeating her season's best personal best of 1.95m.
Angelina Topic, 18, from Serbia, took silver with a clearance of 1.97m.
Our hammer thrower won a bronze medal with a throw of 80.18 metres. This is the first medal at an adult Euro for the 23-year-old athlete, a two-time continental youth champion.
Wojciech Nowicki from Poland became the European champion for the third time in a row (80.95m), while Benze Halasz from Hungary took silver (80.49m).
We congratulate the athletes and continue to support the Ukrainian national athletics team at the European Championships, which will last until 12 June.
Source: Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine
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🇺🇦🇵🇱🇱🇹🇱🇻🇪🇪 Today I spoke at the Summit of the Speakers of the Parliaments of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine, the theme of which was: "The role of Poland, the Baltic States and Ukraine in strengthening security in Europe".
As russia has been waging a ruthless, genocidal war against the Ukrainian people for three years, we have no choice but to go all the way, using all the forces and means at our disposal.
We have a difficult situation on the front line.
russian troops continue to exert pressure along the entire frontline, especially in the north of the Kharkiv region.
Effective defence of Kharkiv and countering russian offensive operations are impossible without hitting the aggressor group's concentration and logistics sites located in russia.
❗️ For effective defence, it is crucial to lift any ban on the use of Western weapons on russian territory, I stressed.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk
Stand with Ukraine 💙💛
Together to the victory 🇺🇦
🖼️: beata_kurkul
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🇺🇦🇵🇱🇱🇹🇱🇻🇪🇪 I held a closed meeting with the speakers of the parliaments of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
This meeting is evidence of a deep understanding of global security challenges, the protection of common interests and the need to improve security in the region.
The main talks will take place tomorrow. But today I outlined the main topics that are in the focus of our attention.
We discussed the security situation in Ukraine and the defence needs of our Security and Defence Forces.
Now it is extremely important to lift any restrictions on the use of weapons provided by our partners to deter the aggressor, as well as to protect our airspace by providing Ukraine with aircraft and air defence systems.
It is also important to help restore Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure, the destruction of which is the enemy's cynical goal.
A separate topic is improving the effectiveness of sanctions policy against russia.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk
🕯 Military photographer Arsen Fedosenko died at the front.
He was seriously wounded as a result of a russian attack with a guided bomb.
He was a true master of his craft. He joined the Armed Forces in the spring of 2022. Together with his fellow journalists, he travelled along the front line to report on the military. He created calendars with images of Ukrainian soldiers.
Arsen is the author of many photo exhibitions. He was known for his photographs in Ukraine and abroad. He was interested in viticulture, visited wineries in Ukraine and took pictures of winemakers.
Ukraine has lost a talented and brave man. Our condolences to the family.
The Humanitarian and Information Policy Committee
Source: Ukrinform
Why are the elections to the European Parliament important?
The fact that they determine what Europe's policy will be like in the next 5 years: how Europe will live, how it will behave in certain situations.
For Ukraine, these elections are important in order to understand how to build relations with the European Parliament, especially considering our goal to join the European Union, and here a lot will depend on the parliamentarians.
The main conclusion of yesterday's elections is that the centrists retain their leadership. I am very glad to congratulate the European People's Party, which won the elections. By the way, the EPP includes two Ukrainian parliamentary parties — "Batkivshchyna" and "European Solidarity". The EPP has always maintained a pro-Ukrainian position, so I hope that the European Parliament will continue the same line.
The Social Democrats took second place. Liberals from Renew Europe — the third.
Unfortunately, the Greens worsened their result.
The Deputy speaker Olena Kondratiuk
❗️ A presentation of the Strategy for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas in Ukraine until 2030 was held, attended by members of the Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy.
Oleksandr Haidu, the Chairman of the Committee, noted that in wartime and in a very difficult time for Ukraine, the agricultural sector has constantly proved its resilience and the ability to quickly re-adjust to military operations.
And this happened in the context of a complete halt in agricultural exports due to the blockade of seaports and constant acts of aggression by russia.
The adoption of the Agriculture Development Strategy is long overdue, as it is necessary to understand the steps for further development of the agricultural sector.
Oleksandr Haidu stressed that certain results of European integration work had been achieved. During the 9th convocation alone, 12 European integration laws were adopted, including 8 during the period of martial law.
‼️ The 75th Anniversary Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government confirmed that Ukraine will be invited to join the North Atlantic Alliance
This is stated in the Declaration adopted by NATO Heads of State and Government.
NATO member states have confirmed that they will be able to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join "when Allies agree and the conditions are met".
The Declaration reads that all member states fully support Ukraine's right to choose its own security arrangements and decide its own future, free from external interference. The future of Ukraine is in NATO. Ukraine is becoming more and more interoperable and politically integrated with the Alliance.
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🇺🇸🇺🇦 I met with the Speaker Emerita of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
I thanked her once again for her personal leadership in supporting Ukraine. I thanked the United States for its unprecedented assistance to Ukraine since the first days of the full-scale invasion.
I also thanked the US Congress for its bipartisan and bicameral support for Ukraine. The adoption of the aid package was of great historical importance for our country and for the defence of Ukraine against russian aggression, for the protection of our people.
The main issue discussed was the security situation in Ukraine. After the latest russian attack and shelling of a children's hospital in the capital, putin demonstrated to the world that there are no red lines for him.
Therefore, I called for support for allowing Ukraine to strike russian military targets on russian territory with allied weapons.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk
💔Unfortunately, we have the first child victim among the patients who were in the National Specialised Hospital Okhmatdyt during the terrorist attack on 8 July.
A little boy died, who was in critical condition in the intensive care unit of the Okhmatdyt at the time of the missile attack. He was later transported to a hospital in Kyiv.
We extend our sincere condolences to the boy's family.
We will never forgive the russian terrorists who kill our children.
Viktor Liashko
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❗️ Children's Hospital "Okhmatdyt" will be restored in the shortest possible time according to modern standards, — the Chairman of the National Health Committee Mykhailo Radutskyi
Emergency and rescue operations have been completed. At the time of the attack, the hospital had 627 young patients. Thanks to the fact that the medical staff followed safety measures and managed to get the patients down to the shelter, we managed to prevent mass casualties,
Today, we continue our work in Washington. Very soon, there will be a decision regarding the F-16s.
We are increasing the number of aircraft available to Ukraine. Yesterday, we secured a decision on 5 more Patriots and dozens of other air defense systems for Ukraine, and today – a decision on aircraft. There will also be two new security agreements. These agreements include support for sanctions against Russia, support for our accession to the EU and NATO, support for our defense – our soldiers, all our people, and reconstruction – all of this is taken into account in the security agreements exactly as needed. And our meetings. There will be at least ten negotiations with state leaders. I am grateful to our entire team for their activity.
Today, there will also be meetings in the U.S. Congress – both parties, both chambers. We appreciate the American support and will discuss how to add even more good results to our cooperation with America – preferably, long-range and far-reaching.
Thank you to everyone who helps! Every day we are becoming stronger and getting closer to a just peace.
🇺🇦🇷🇴 Met with the President of the Senate of the Romanian Parliament Nicolae Ciucă.
I thanked him for Romania's constant practical support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
Especially the defence assistance. The decision to transfer the Patriot air defence system to Ukraine is extremely valuable.
The more protected the Ukrainian sky is, the more lives of Ukrainian civilians will be saved.
We discussed the security situation and outlined the urgent needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I also stressed that it is now important to get permission from our partners to strike at russian military targets. This can stop the russian terror.
We also paid attention to strengthening cooperation between our parliaments. I am convinced that the dialogue between our institutions should be further intensified. I invited my colleague to pay an official visit to Kyiv.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk
Following the Summit of the Speakers of the Parliaments of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine, we adopted a joint declaration in which the speakers of the parliaments, in particular:
🔹 pledged to continue working on bilateral security cooperation agreements and their implementation within the framework of the G7 Declaration;
🔹 expressed hope that the July NATO Summit in Washington will contribute to determining the irreversibility of Ukraine's path to membership;
🔹 recognised that military action is more effective in the absence of restrictions on support and reiterated that Ukraine has the right to defend itself, in accordance with international law, which also includes strikes against legitimate military targets on russian territory;
🔹 welcomed the readiness of some countries to join the international coalition and send instructors to Ukraine at their convenience to train the Ukrainian military, etc.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk
Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024. Official opening and powerful speeches by world leaders.
The audience gave the President of Ukraine a standing ovation. "Life will win anyway," Volodymyr Zelenskyi said from the #URC2024 podium.
He once again stressed that we need to talk not only about the prospects but also about the problems of today. And he called on our international partners to help restore the Ukrainian energy system in every way possible. It is important to restore energy facilities before winter.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasised that in the coming weeks and months, the Patriot system, IRIS-T and Gepard systems, missiles and ammunition would be sent to Ukraine.
In particular, we would like to thank President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen for supporting Ukraine's European integration path, recognising our results and making decisions that help us achieve a fair victory!
Glory to Ukraine!
🇺🇦🇪🇺🇩🇪
The First Deputy Speaker Oleksandr Korniienko
The issue of closing the skies over the western regions of Ukraine remains extremely important, in particular with the help of partners.
More active involvement of partners in strengthening Ukraine is an investment in continental security and bringing peace to Eastern Europe.
🇺🇦🇵🇱🇱🇹🇱🇻🇪🇪 I said this in my speech at the Summit of the Speakers of the Parliaments of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine.
I also noted that Ukraine needs a rapid supply of air defence and electronic warfare systems, ammunition, armoured vehicles, drones and anti-drone systems, long-range missiles and shells. Ukraine needs anti-aircraft missile systems and anti-aircraft installations, as well as missiles and ammunition.
We are waiting for the first arrivals of F-16 aircraft.
I thanked the countries that have announced joining the Czech initiative to finance the purchase of artillery shells for Ukraine. We look forward to its practical implementation.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk
Every Ukrainian is now a Kharkiv citizen. What is happening around Kharkiv is the business of the whole country.
I had the honour to deliver a welcoming speech at the #URC2024 networking event "Restoring Kharkiv. The main goals and plans".
The mayor of the city has to deal with landscaping, infrastructure development and other issues to improve the living standards of its residents. But he is asking international partners for military assistance.
We understand that we have to fight not only the consequences, but also the cause. The President Volodymyr Zelenskyi voiced it very simply and clearly — two Patriots. For Kharkiv region, they would significantly help protect lives from the aggressor's terror.
Ukraine's experience, quick decisions on the supply of shells and weapons are what can change the situation.
A municipal survey shows that Kharkiv residents are the most proud of their city.
The First Vice Speaker Oleksandr Korniienko
#StandWithUkraine🇺🇦
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Poland 🇵🇱
I am starting a working visit to participate in the Summit of the Heads of Parliament of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Our meeting is dedicated to strengthening support for Ukraine. The theme of the Summit: "The role of Poland, the Baltic States and Ukraine in strengthening security in Europe".
We will talk about the tools of parliamentary diplomacy to counter the russian threat and ensure regional security, the introduction of restrictive measures against russia at the national level, and the use of frozen russian assets to support and rebuild Ukraine.
We are also focusing on the security situation and Ukraine's urgent defence needs, in particular, the protection of Ukrainian airspace.
We will also discuss ways to further implement the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, as well as cooperation on Ukraine's integration into the EU and NATO.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk
🇪🇺 On 6-9 June 2024, elections to the European Parliament were held in 27 EU member states.
According to preliminary results, the new European Parliament includes representatives of the following political groups:
✅European People's Party (EPP) - 191 seats;
✅The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) - 135 seats;
✅ Renew - 83 seats;
✅ European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) - 71 seats;
✅Identity and Democracy (ID) - 57 seats;
✅ Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) - 53 seats;
✅ The Left - 35 seats;
The first plenary session of the European Parliament of the next convocation will be held on 16-19 July 2024 in Strasbourg.
It will elect the President of the European Parliament for the next 2.5 years and 14 Vice-Presidents. It is likely that the session will also consider the election of a new President of the European Commission.
The Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU
❗️ The Deputy Head of the Human Rights Committee Nelli Yakovleva took part in the Forum of National Minorities of Ukraine: "Harmony of relations, protection of rights, European perspective".
Such events are an important part of the work of the Committee, which is the main body responsible for drafting legislation in the relevant area and preparing it for consideration by the Parliament.
Now there are all the necessary conditions for the formation and implementation of a systemic ethnic policy in the country: radically updated legislation in connection with the European integration process, its active implementation at the executive level, and dialogue with representatives of national minorities.
Ukraine strives to create appropriate conditions for the realisation and protection of the rights of all persons belonging to national minorities (communities) of Ukraine,
❗️ The Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation Oleksandr Merezhko met with a delegation of the International Criminal Court headed by the Secretary of the International Criminal Court, Osvaldo Zavala Giler.
The participants of the meeting discussed topical issues:
- The participants of the meeting discussed the issues of international law and the functioning of the International Criminal Court;
- ratification of the Rome Statute by Ukraine;
- cooperation of Ukrainian investigative bodies with the International Criminal Court;
- The delegation discussed the possibilities of using the Trust Fund for Victims of the International Criminal Court.
During the meeting, the Chairman of the Committee, Oleksandr Merezhko, stressed the importance of maintaining international law and order, respect for the principles and norms of international law, punishment of those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine.