Kyrylo Budanov has been appointed Head of the Office of the President. Kyrylo’s experience and strength are enough to steer the Office’s work toward security matters and the negotiation process exactly as needed. I have also decided to change the working format of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. I have proposed to Mykhailo Fedorov that he become the new Minister of Defense of Ukraine.

Rustem Umerov is holding meetings in Türkiye – with the Foreign Minister of Türkiye and, next, with the intelligence services. We are working very hard to resume prisoner exchanges in the new year – this is precisely the key topic in our talks with Türkiye.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held his first phone call of the year with President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the first decree of 2026, conferring state awards on 53 Ukrainians from various regions of the country.

We believe in peace, we fight for it, and we work for it. And we will continue to do so. Because in 2026, we truly want that the skies be calm and the land peaceful; that warmth and light fill our homes – and not 170, but the full 220, as it should be; that all our people return home – from the front, from captivity, from occupation; that we stand; that Ukraine stands.

In 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conducted approximately 60 visits abroad, hosted nearly 100 heads of foreign states and governments in Ukraine, held 20 international video calls, over 230 telephone conversations with leaders of states, governments, international organizations, and spiritual leaders, and participated in almost 150 events within Ukraine.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented 20 certificates for apartments to the Heroes of Ukraine and to the families of warriors who were awarded this title posthumously.