On Europe Day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy participated in the Second International Summit of Cities and Regions. The event was also attended by Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, the Head of the Office of the President, members of Parliament, government officials, and representatives of Ukrainian and foreign self-government bodies.
The Head of State noted that today we all celebrate the Day of Europe — Europe united and founded on the principles of law and cooperation, and therefore, the strongest in all time and the most oriented towards peace. He added that now is as crucial a time for Europe as it was at the very beginning of the modern project of a united and peaceful Europe.
“Each of you sees that Putin has come to our land in exactly the same way as Hitler came to the lands of other nations: illegally, unprovoked and absolutely hideous. Unfortunately, the same thing can happen to our nations. That is why our mutual assistance is a work aimed at ensuring that not only this aggressor loses, but that the very idea of any war in Europe is crushed again,” the President said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy pointed out that the Second International Summit of Cities and Regions was attended by representatives of 18 countries and the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola. He thanked her and other European leaders for their support for Ukraine.
“In June, a new, very important stage should begin — the stage of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU. And I ask you to further increase the cooperation between all of us in Europe. Do your best to ensure that all of us — at the level of our countries and at the level of the whole of Europe — do not miss a single chance for security, for peace and for joint results. And today, new agreements between our communities — between Ukraine and your countries — have been prepared, new agreements that will give us all the necessary strength,” the Head of State noted.
Roberta Metsola emphasized that the EU has been standing with Ukrainians since the beginning of the full-scale invasion and will continue helping in every way possible, will condemn the aggressor, will adopt sanctions against the Kremlin, and will bring all those involved in war crimes to justice. The President of the European Parliament also expressed confidence in the European future of Ukraine.
“The path to accession will certainly be difficult, and Ukraine's path is unique in many ways because we need to consider the urgency of rebuilding Ukraine's infrastructure and economy. But the EP and the EU will be ready to help. We will return and we will rebuild together, because Ukraine is Europe, and Europe is Ukraine,” she said.
The International Summit of Cities and Regions was launched to unite the efforts of Ukraine and the world. It was held for the first time last year on April 20. According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, it has already demonstrated its effectiveness. Since then, more than 1,600 partnership agreements have been signed, most of them with communities and regions of Poland and Germany. The Prime Minister announced that new projects would be presented at the summit today and called on communities and regions to join forces to help Ukraine's energy sector.
“Over the past few months, Russia has been intensively attacking our power plants, substations, and other facilities. More than 800 heating supply facilities have been destroyed or damaged, up to 8 GW of electricity generation has been lost, and distribution systems have been damaged. Restoration will require huge funds and enormous efforts,” said Denys Shmyhal.