President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the bipartisan delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives consisting of Donald Norcross, Celeste Maloy and Jimmy Panetta.
The Head of State thanked the American delegation for visiting Kyiv and Odesa. He praised the support of the United States in countering Russian aggression, especially in the context of supplying Ukraine with F-16 aircraft.
“I thank the American society for the important assistance to Ukraine from the very beginning of this war. We are grateful to President Joseph Biden, both houses of Congress and both parties. And we highly appreciate the decision of the Congress to support our army,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
During the meeting, the parties discussed in detail the strengthening of our country’s defense capabilities and the priority needs of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
The President stressed the importance of obtaining additional air defense equipment for the effective protection of civilians and critical infrastructure, as well as the need for our country to expand training missions for Ukrainian pilots and technicians in the United States.
The parties paid special attention to Ukraine’s progress on its path to Euro-Atlantic integration.
The Head of State thanked the United States for its active participation in the preparation and holding of the first Peace Summit in Switzerland and outlined further steps aimed at implementing its results and promoting the Peace Formula.
Source – Ukrainian President
Russia Brought the War to Our Land, and It Should Feel What It Has Done – Address by the President
8 August 2024
I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians!
Today, three reports have already been made by Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi – productive reports, exactly the kind our country needs now.
I am grateful to each warrior, each soldier and commander who ensures the defense of our Ukrainian positions and the fulfillment of our defensive tasks. Ukrainians know how to achieve their goals. And achieving the goals at war was not our choice. Russia brought the war to our land, and it should feel what it has done. We strive to achieve our goals as soon as possible in peacetime – under just peace conditions. And it will happen.
Today, there was also a report by Minister of Defense Umerov on the supply of weapons and equipment to our army. We are working to ensure that the supplies are consistently delivered on time. Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Maliuk also reported today – on our operations and on the sensitive work of the Security Service, which protects Ukrainians – protects them from Russian sabotage and assassination attempts inside our country.
Today, I also thank the entire development team of our new digital state service, Army+. We have presented this application. Now it is important that all our commanders in the Defense Forces start using it – obtain the necessary IDs and learn all the technical details. And the “army of paperwork” should be left in the past. We will continue to develop our Diia by adding services to it, and soon our Mriia – the third element of the state digital infrastructure – will start working – for children and parents, for teachers and schools. Will start working truly for the future of Ukraine. Ukrainians should not waste their time with outdated and useless bureaucracy. The world sees what Ukrainians can spend their time on – with results for Ukraine. We are holding our ground and providing Ukraine with new opportunities.
And one more thing.
I held a long meeting with our international experts: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the military, the Defense Intelligence, the Office. On our cooperation with NATO – with the Alliance in general and with our neighbors in the region who are NATO members in particular. It is obvious that together we can bring more security and stability to our region and to all of Europe. And we need to translate that obviousness into practical steps, into ways in which we can bring more real security to each other through cooperation. Today we discussed our joint capabilities to defend against Russian missile and drone strikes – we are working on their implementation. I thank everyone who is helping!
Glory to Ukraine!
Source – Ukrainian President
Glory to Ukraine!
Dear Ukrainians! Dear attendees!
And now, first of all, I address our Ukrainian warriors: our soldiers, sergeants, officers and generals.
Everyone sees that the Ukrainian army can surprise. And it can achieve results.
This is shown on the battlefield, where our warriors have not only withstood the overwhelming force of the occupiers but are destroying it in a way that is necessary to defend Ukraine – our state and independence.
This is due to the courage of our people and the absolutely natural desire of Ukrainians to find the best course of action.
Ukrainians are constantly learning new things in this war. New models of weapons – and we can be proud of our results in the use of new weaponry. A lot has been accomplished in a short time, especially things that other states are either pursuing or have been pursuing for decades.
Our warriors are also mastering new methods of warfare – in particular, everything related to the use of drones. The dominance of Ukrainians in this field is obvious.
And I thank everyone in our army, in our state, and all volunteers who promote and implement the necessary changes.
I thank every commander who welcomes the changes and welcomes them really positively.
The Ukrainian Army always succeeds when it is able to discard the outdated, to act out of the box, and to execute with absolute accuracy what was intended for our, Ukrainian, results.
This is also the way our army should be managed.
Today, we are taking such a step – a step towards modernity, a step towards efficiency.
Something that strengthens our entire army because it strengthens each commander and, eventually, each warrior of our army.
As of today, the Army+ application will be operational. It will start with basic functions. And we will fill it with new ones.
In particular, electronic reports will be available immediately. When, in a few minutes and clicks, you can do what now takes at least hours or days.
There will also be an army ID. And there will be surveys, to see the real situation with the provision of our units.
And this is only the first release of Army+.
In the future, just as we have been adding new features to Diia, we will add new options to Army+.
The purpose of this application is to free the Ukrainian army from useless paperwork. So that commanders and soldiers do not waste their time on outdated and unnecessary bureaucracy and filling in papers. We are starting with reports: first, there will be electronic reports, and then we will continue with clearance forms and all other documents.
However, in the next phases of Army+ development, the application will also include other features that will help our warriors meet all of these social and communication needs while serving.
In particular, the application will include the necessary courses and training programs. Mastering new things is a priority for us.
Also, thanks to our state digital services, Ukrainians will be able to receive all social services provided by the state to warriors and citizens without bureaucracy. Transportation – they will be able to buy tickets or order other necessary services. Medicine and medical documents – all this should and will be convenient. Banking and crediting – the state is creating and will increase the package of financial opportunities for our Ukrainian warriors.
And in particular, Army+ will provide reliable communication between the warriors – secure chats.
Today, government officials and representatives of the Ministry of Defense will outline all the details.
In general, Army+ should become the second element of our digital state.
First, we launched Diia. And it is already used by more than 20 million Ukrainians. This is our super application. 18 digital documents and more than 40 services are in the application and over a hundred more services are available today on the portal.
Next is Army+. The second element. And it will also be full of services.
And there will be a third one, which we will present soon, in September. Our Mriia – an application for children, parents, teachers.
Diia is about the functioning of our state. Army+ is about our defense because it is about our warriors. And Mriia is about Ukrainian children, our future. The future that we will surely protect and secure.
I want to thank everyone who implements all these ideas, initiatives, and everyone who helps us. I thank everyone who develops digital services for our state – this all is for our people. I thank everyone who implements the changes Ukraine needs so much.
And of course, all our people must always be grateful to the Ukrainians, our true heroes of different times, who fought for our state, our independence and gave up the most precious thing – their lives.
I ask everyone to honor the memory of the fallen Ukrainian heroes with a minute of silence.
Thank you.
Now I address all the commanders of our Ukrainian army and all our Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine: I really expect you to help implement all these changes in a powerful way. We cannot do it without you.
We need Ukraine to lead in everything – in the way Ukrainians fight, in the way Ukrainians work, and in the way, Ukrainians manage their state and manage their army.
Eventually, our partners should learn from us modern solutions and efficiency, the ability of Ukrainians to achieve results.
I want to thank everyone again for this day. I thank everyone who stands with Ukraine, who fights, who works for the sake of our state, for the sake of our people.
Glory to Ukraine!
Source – Ukrainian President
