On Monday, January 24, at 17:00, the first meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of the new year was held. The politicized citizens, who had become accustomed to the fact that the council meets weekly, without gaps, even began to be perplexed. So much conflicting information from all sides, and why are the council members still resting?
Vladimir Zelensky. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
There is no panic in Kiev, there are no more people in stores and pharmacies than usual, no one buys salt, buckwheat, matches, bandages, but here are the news feeds … First, the US Embassy, then the British Embassy officially, not according to rumors, decided to take them out of Ukraine some diplomats and their families. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called such a move «premature» and «a manifestation of excessive caution.» However, it is impossible to say that there is no foreboding of full-scale aggression from Russia at all. The hryvnia exchange rate is weakening, investors — both national and foreign — put many projects on pause. Tension, like a chain, is transmitted to the regions: there is no smoke without fire…
The media knew the agenda of the NSDC meeting only in the most general terms: about measures to ensure national security from internal and external threats, about the current state of affairs in the economy, energy, countering the coronavirus, and the like. But at the tentatively appointed time, the briefing of the NSDC Secretary Alexei Danilov did not take place. And after an hour there was no briefing, and after two … But a message appeared: in the evening the Cabinet of Ministers could meet for an extraordinary meeting. On the morning of January 25, the conciliation council of parliamentary factions scheduled a closed meeting in the Rada with Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov and Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba to discuss the situation with Russian troops on the borders. And on January 28, the mayor of Kiev, Vitaliy Klitschko, wants to convene a meeting of the board of the Association of Cities of Ukraine in order to coordinate activities related to the organization of territorial defense in the regions.
And then, instead of the traditional Danilov, President Zelensky appeared on TV screens. With an almost New Year's, if we talk about tonality, optimistic speech: «Everything is under control, there is no reason to panic.»
The President stressed that the Ukrainian military is ready for any development of events. But the authorities are working to de-escalate tensions, and only one thing is required of citizens — not to shout “Everything is lost!”.
According to Zelensky, the current heating season does not threaten any troubles either: “There is enough of everything in the energy sector. Coal reserves have already exceeded 1 million tons, and deliveries by rail and sea continue.”
He assessed the situation with covid as follows: “The number of cases is growing. But the hospitalization rate is half what it was at the same time a year ago, more than two-thirds of the beds are empty. And a much lower death rate. Vaccinations work.» He called on those who hesitate to be vaccinated, praised the conscious ones who made the third, booster dose. And he said that another five hundred hryvnias would be added to the well-known «vaccination» thousand hryvnias — for a booster. And citizens aged 60+ will be able to use this money not only to buy books, theater tickets and trips around the country, but also to buy medicines and pay for utilities. The last two points — do not go to the fortuneteller! — the opposition will call terry populism. “I wish you 36.6,” Zelensky ended his report on the NSDC meeting. “Let’s save ourselves, let’s save Ukraine.”
Danilov also aired. He told the media about the same thing: “There is no emergency, no emergencies or fussy extinguishing fires. Peace and focus. Peace, which the authorities must provide to the population. And concentration in the actions of the authorities themselves.