On January 19, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal met with President of the European Council Charles Michel in Kyiv.

The parties coordinated the further movement of our country to the European Union in the context of the 24th EU-Ukraine Summit.

Denys Shmyhal and Charles Michel discussed, among other things, defense support to strengthen the resilience of the Armed Forces and protect Ukrainian skies, as well as further financial assistance from European partners.

"We are grateful to the EU for the financial support: the first tranche of EUR 3 billion from EUR 18 billion macro-financial assistance package have arrived this week," the Prime Minister said.

Denys Shmyhal also expressed hope for further joint efforts to increase pressure on russia. Confiscation of russian assets, creation of a special international tribunal and strengthening of sanctions against russia, according to him, are among the priority steps. In particular, the Prime Minister of Ukraine emphasized the need to enforce sanctions against russia's nuclear energy sector.

"The Russian leadership must pay for its crimes against Ukraine. And the confiscated assets of russia should be used for the reconstruction, in particular of the destroyed housing," the Prime Minister emphasized.

The President of the European Council noted that the EU would continue to support Ukraine.