During a working trip to the Chernihiv region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić who is visiting our country for the second time since the beginning of the full-scale aggression.
In particular, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe together with the Head of State visited the village of Yahidne, where she saw the infrastructure and residential buildings destroyed by Russian troops, as well as the school where the occupiers kept the locals.
"On the example of this school, you saw a real concentration camp and the terrible consequences that the Russian aggression has brought to Ukrainians - from babies to the elderly," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
During the meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, work on the international legal front to hold Russia accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, war crimes and crimes against humanity was discussed in detail.
The parties also paid attention to the measures taken to create a register of damages caused by the Russian aggression and a full-fledged compensation mechanism, in particular in the context of preparations for the Summits of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe in Reykjavik.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy separately called on the Council of Europe to make all possible efforts to stop Russia's illegal deportation of Ukrainian citizens from temporarily occupied areas and areas of hostilities, and together with other international partners to ensure the return of illegally deported Ukrainians, primarily children.
The President commended the recent adoption of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine for 2023-2026 "Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction" and expressed hope for its successful implementation.
