Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held the first meeting of the new format called "Kyiv Initiative" with the participation of foreign policy advisors to the heads of state and government of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary, which took place in Kyiv.

This high-level event, initiated by the Head of the Office of the President, is aimed at strengthening the coordination of countries in matters of regional security and practical cooperation in countering security threats.

At the beginning of the meeting, Andriy Yermak emphasized that today Ukraine defends not only its independence, sovereignty and the right to independently choose the future, but also the whole of Europe.

"Ukrainians die every day for our freedom and your freedom. Seizing Ukraine is not the only goal of the Kremlin. It wants domination in Europe. Its cruelty and appetites are only growing," he noted.

In his opinion, by igniting various crises, Russia expects that in these conditions European countries will act according to the principle "every man for himself", but Europe has already surprised the Kremlin.

The Head of the Office of the President stated that today Ukraine and the world need a military victory, as there is no periphery in the war started by the Russian Federation. Therefore, a common approach "one for all and all for one" should be continued.

"Maximum and timely support from Europe will help us end this terrible war as soon as possible. This is the only way we will liberate the occupied territories - Crimea, Donbas. This is the only way the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov can once again become a zone of security, trade and tourism," Andriy Yermak is convinced.

As the Head of the President's Office noted, the representation of many European states at the highest level at the second summit of the Crimea Platform is very important for Ukraine and the whole world.

"This event is another confirmation that Ukraine and its partners do not forget any Ukrainian region temporarily occupied by Russia," he said.

Andriy Yermak also emphasized the importance of international legal responsibility of Russia for this aggression and the development of such a security system that will make it impossible to repeat a war like the current one in the future.

According to him, Ukraine is ready to be a reliable bastion of the eastern flank of the European Union and NATO, and it is also in common interests for Ukraine to become a member of the EU as soon as possible.

The main topics of discussion during this event were: the course of countering the Russian threat and the key needs in this regard; further sanctions pressure on Russia; Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine as a point of growth for the entire region.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President Andriy Sybiha told the advisors present about the Ukrainian vision of strengthening the consolidated sanctions policy against the Russian Federation, which, in particular, the Yermak-McFaul International Group is actively working on.

According to him, it is very important to strengthen sectoral sanctions in the spheres of energy, finance and trade, introduce further personal sanctions against oligarchs, high-ranking officials and key managers of state-owned enterprises of the Russian Federation, stop issuing visas to Russian citizens by all EU and G7 countries.

For his part, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva touched upon the issue of European integration of Ukraine. He noted that our country is actively doing its part of the job in this direction and has set itself the goal of coping with it by the end of the year.

Press statement of the meeting of the "Kyiv Initiative" participants

On August 22, 2022, the leadership of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the head of the international policy bureau of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, the foreign policy advisors to the heads of state and government of the Republic of Estonia, Hungary, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, Romania and the Slovak Republic held a meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Participants of the "Kyiv Initiative":

• strongly condemned Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine as a flagrant violation of international law, in particular the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act;

• noted the importance of the international community's consolidated efforts to restore the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, in particular through the further development of cooperation within the Crimea Platform;

• reaffirmed the commitment to increase pressure on Russia for the purpose of withdrawing its troops from the sovereign territory of Ukraine and ending its war against Ukraine, in particular by further strengthening restrictive measures and sanctions that would significantly impede the ability of the Russian Federation to continue the war;

• noted the importance of investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against the civilian population and those who do not participate in hostilities in Ukraine, as well as bringing the perpetrators to justice;

• emphasized the need to continue to provide Ukraine with political and practical support to defend against ongoing Russian aggression;

• agreed to intensify joint efforts to strengthen cooperation with Ukraine in the field of regional and global security;

• emphasized the importance of ensuring respect for international humanitarian law, including the rights and protections to be accorded to prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. In this context, the parties agreed to continue calling on the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to immediately investigate the Russian attack that killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Yelenovka (Donetsk region);

• praised the efforts of Ukraine, together with the Republic of Türkiye and the United Nations, aimed at ensuring the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea ports in order to avoid shortages and famine caused by the blockade of these ports by Russia; in this context, the importance of the contribution of states - neighbors of Ukraine to simplifying the transit and export of Ukrainian grain and strengthening global food security was emphasized;

• confirmed their readiness for active cooperation in order to develop and implement a mechanism to compensate Ukraine for the damage caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation;

• confirmed their political commitment to active cooperation and participation in the post-war reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine, including the development of logistics and supply routes, simplification of border crossing and customs procedures, creation of new cargo terminals, creation of joint ventures in the field of production and maintenance of military equipment, unification of industrial hubs and their synchronization with those operating in the states neighboring Ukraine;

• took note of the Fast Recovery Plan prepared by Ukraine in order to meet urgent needs in the reconstruction of housing, critical and social infrastructure, noted the current efforts of their national authorities to study the possibilities of participation in the implementation of this Plan;

• praised the decision of the European Council of June 23, 2022 to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate for membership in the European Union and agreed to support the efforts for EU membership; in this regard, they noted the importance of implementing recommendations and reforms in relevant areas; confirmed their readiness to provide further support in this direction;

• confirmed the need to promote the creation of financial support instruments within the EU and international financial institutions aimed at supporting Ukraine at the current stage, as well as at restoring the economy in accordance with its European aspirations;

• emphasized the importance of the central role of the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) in deepening political dialogue and cooperation in the light of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations;

• emphasized the need to further strengthen cooperation in the framework of the Enhanced Opportunities Partnership between Ukraine and NATO, as well as to ensure constant support to Ukraine, in particular by providing the Comprehensive Assistance Package as soon as possible;

• confirmed the need to continue expanded political and operational cooperation between Ukraine and the Alliance in accordance with NATO's open door policy and Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations, in particular during the next NATO summit in Vilnius in 2023;

• agreed to contribute to the development of comprehensive and legally binding security guarantees for Ukraine;

• expressed hope for the continuation of a regular dialogue on topical issues of regional security in the framework of the Kyiv Initiative.