“Ukraine pays back in their own coin to all those who have for years been hitting her taking advantage of her weakness, lack of law and order and, what is more important, justice which has been for many years for ordinary people not even a deficit, but something mythical”, said Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his video address on March 12. In it, the President summed up the results of the last meetings of the Council for National Security and Defense (CNSD).
Zelenskyy noted that the decisions made by the meetings called forth a considerable resonance and an approval of many in society as well as the indignation of those “who found their names and their businesses in the decisions of the Council”.
In the words of Zelenskyy, while the Ukrainians at large believed that justice did exist, others in the meantime appropriated the resources of the state, its mineral wealth, strategic enterprises, pipelines and even the Constitutional Court.
“To restore justice in Ukraine has been one of my key promises… First of all, we put a stop to all attempts to split Ukraine by propaganda and disinformation. On February 2 of this year, we blocked the activities of those persons who regarded it as a norm to do business in the temporarily occupied territories and then financed disinformation battalions that attacked Ukrainians with volleys of lies and manipulations”, said the President.
He reminded that sanctions had been imposed on Viktor Medvedchuk and some other persons on February 19. And the oil pipeline that belonged to Medvedchuk is to be returned to state ownership.
“The fair and legal answer will be given to those who believed that the controlling package of shares in strategic defense enterprises such as Motor Sich must be in private hands and not in the possession of the state, who believed that they can take possession of the country’s lands and mineral resources which belong to the people of Ukraine”, stressed Zelenskyy.
The President promised that the answers to all these questions would be given by the law-enforcement agencies. Citizens of Ukraine should know how and on what conditions certain persons became owners of the country’s national riches.
“Besides, yesterday we did what had to be done in 2014. We approved the state strategy of de-occupation and re-integration of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. I’d like to tell those who still count on something: forget that Ukraine will forget about Crimea”, said the head of state.
Zelenskyy gave his comment on the U.S. sanctions against Ihor Kolomoisky, the former owner of the PrivatBank. The President said that Ukraine supports such decision. He also mentioned the names of the country’s richest people, the so-called oligarchs. “As a matter of fact, the names make no difference here. What matters is whether you are ready to work legally and transparently or you want to go on creating monopolies, controlling the mass media, influencing people’s deputies and other government officials? The former is supported and the latter must end”, declared the President.
According to the President, this is not a complete list of steps that the government has taken recently and not the final list of what Ukraine is going to do in the future. “I’d like to stress the following point that the above-mentioned measures have been taken by our government, on our decision and in compliance with our duty and not because someone has called us… I do not need some additional motivations, particularly from our partners. Their support, yes, I do need. And for it, we will be thankful”, said the President.
He went on to say, “First of all, we should learn to defend ourselves. No one will do it for us. Ukraine can and will make independent decisions to protect herself and restore justice”, summed up Zelenskyy.
The first President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk believes that President Zelenskyy’s video address in which he explained the main points of the CNSD judgments answers the expectations and the will of the Ukrainian people. Kravchuk wrote, “If the President continues to act in the future relying on his people, their support will grow”.
Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov believes that this year Ukraine is gradually winding up the strategy of “looking Putin in the eye”. Butusov said, “These are just the first steps. And far from all in the President’s surroundings welcome such a path. We do not know yet how consistent President Zelenskky will be. But we do know that the civil society will not allow the authorities to hesitate along this path. Only the pro-Western course, structural reforms and the independent from Russia policy will be able to unite Ukraine”.
The newspaper Voice of Ukraine
