At a meeting with the delegation of the US Congress in Kyiv, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed counteraction to the Nord Stream 2 project implementation.
"Only the United States and President Biden's administration can prevent Nord Stream 2 from being completed and commissioned. Nord Stream 2 is not just the energy security that all diplomats and politicians talk about, it is a separate powerful weapon that is being given to the Russian Federation today. And then Europe asks how you can protect yourself from Russia. The answer is very simple - do not give weapons to the enemy," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.
The Head of State noted that Ukraine is currently defending Europe and European values on the eastern border, and this requires a strong and well-supplied army.
"Nord Stream 2 will disconnect Ukraine from gas supplies, which means “disconnecting" us from at least $ 3 billion a year… We will have nothing to pay for the Ukrainian army," he added.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that the understanding of all the threats posed by Nord Stream 2 is especially relevant on the eve of US President Joe Biden's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And Ukraine is ready to provide the American party with full information on this issue.
Another potential threat that could strengthen Russia's position in Europe, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is the failure to provide Ukraine with a clear signal and specific terms for obtaining a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP).
The President also expressed hope that the United States would be represented at the highest level during the Crimean Platform Summit.
"We would like the United States to support us in the issue of the deoccupation of Crimea at the highest level with its presence at this first important Summit on August 23," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The Head of State also spoke about the reforms being implemented in Ukraine. In particular, the completion of land reform, which has not been initiated by the Ukrainian authorities for many years of independence.
"But we did it despite the resistance of those who earned money on the shady circulation of the land. Now we have passed the necessary laws and are actually close to completing this reform," he said.
Also, according to the President, the Security Service of Ukraine is being reformed - the relevant bill has already been approved in the first reading.
In addition, a very important draft law on the procedure for election of members of the High Council of Justice has been adopted in the first reading.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also told the Senators about the completion of the draft law designed to terminate the influence of oligarchs on authorities.
In the context of the fight against Russian propaganda, the President informed about the imposition of sanctions by the National Security and Defense Council on a number of propaganda TV channels financed from the country-invader.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that the Center for Countering Disinformation had been established in Ukraine, and the involvement of American specialists could help in the work of this structure.
The meeting involved US Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Robert Portman, Christopher Murphy, their advisers, as well as Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the United States in Ukraine Kristina Kvien.
The Ukrainian party involved the First President of Ukraine, Head of the Ukrainian Delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group Leonid Kravchuk, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak and his deputies Ihor Zhovkva, Yulia Svyriydenko and Andrii Sybiha.