I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians!
A few things from today.
Right now in Türkiye, our team’s meetings are already in progress. The first was with the Turkish side in Ankara on key security issues so important for both our countries. I’m receiving hourly reports. We expect that today’s further opportunity for meetings with the Russian side in Istanbul – the opportunity to take the right steps – will not be wasted. We are determined to continue working for the release of our people from Russian captivity, for the return of our Ukrainian children, and for a real ceasefire. The priority is preparation for a leaders’ meeting, and our delegation has the necessary authority for this – directives for discussing the key issues.
Also, all day today, preparations continued for the new stage of the exchange. We are waiting for our people back home. It is very important that despite all difficulties, Ukrainians are coming back. And for every name, we conduct checks and gather all information. There have been many cases when our guys were listed as missing in action, but we found them in captivity. We carefully verify all this every time.
Of course, there were many meetings with government officials and representatives of law enforcement agencies. That’s actually how my day began – with a very detailed conversation involving the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, the State Bureau of Investigation, and Ukraine’s Prosecutor General. It was important to me that each of them share their arguments and their perspective. It was important that they finally tell each other what had long been building up. I really value the agreement to work as a team – to continue collaborating, and to implement measures that can truly create a sense of unavoidable accountability, and therefore justice, in Ukraine. We agreed that the heads of these institutions will jointly propose an action plan – a plan of concrete steps that can strengthen the rule of law in Ukraine. Of course, everyone has heard what people are saying these days – what they are saying on social media, to each other, on the streets. It's not falling on deaf ears. We’ve analyzed all the concerns, all the aspects of what needs to be changed and what needs to be stepped up. I will propose a bill to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine that will be the response. It will ensure the strength of the rule of law system. And there will be no Russian influence or interference in the activities of law enforcement. And very importantly: all the norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions will be in place. I strongly expect specific proposals of the legal norms that should make it happen from our group of heads of law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies, from the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. This will be a presidential bill, and we will implement it as part of our strategy for the transformation of the state. Also today, I signed a decree to reduce bureaucratic procedures and immediately launch an audit of public spending. I expect the Government of Ukraine to deliver concrete results within a month – so that we can redirect as many state resources as possible to Ukraine’s defense and to our state’s resilience. We are also preparing meaningful steps on deregulation – to give people more freedom. We will definitely make it all happen. And I thank everyone who supports these efforts. And what will remain most important is not losing our national unity, ending this war, stopping this Russian evil, and securing a dignified peace for Ukraine. And exactly as we all envision it – as a full-fledged part of Europe. We’ll make it happen.
Glory to Ukraine!