The President also announced negotiations with the EU on new sanctions against the Russian Federation and humanitarian aid for the besieged Mariupol.< /strong>
The Verkhovna Rada will consider an initiative to abolish VAT and excise duty on fuel, humanitarian aid is sent to the besieged Mariupol, and Russian troops are suffering the biggest blow in decades, reports the Chronicle.info with reference to Focus.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated this in his daily address.
The head of state said that today in Melitopol about two thousand people took to the rally against the occupation and demanded the release kidnapped by Russian forces mayor Ivan Fedorov.
«If two thousand people come out against the occupation in Melitopol, how many should you (in Russia) have against the war? To be honest, to be fair. Yesterday, the invaders captured the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fyodorov. The society of the city demands to release him. And this is very important»,” Zelensky said.
The president also said that he had appealed to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron about the release of Fedorov.
Zelensky added that Russian troops endure «colossal» losses — «this is the biggest blow to the Russian army in decades». He noted that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 31 battalion-tactical groups of the Russian Federation have lost their combat capability. At the same time, the head of state noted that the Russian military is already surrendering not one at a time, but in whole groups, and part of the invader's forces are trying to leave the country's territory in order to get home. The president also spoke about the large losses of the Russian Federation in terms of military equipment: «In most armies of the world there is not as much as the Russian troops lost during the invasion of our state».
Zelensky also said that Today, humanitarian cargo was again sent to Mariupol and attempts to provide the city with assistance will be made daily. And, despite the fact that Ukrainian troops guarantee «complete silence» along the humanitarian route, whether the cargo will be delivered to the city depends on the forces of the Russian Federation.
In addition, the president spoke about two areas of work with the European Union — Ukraine's accession to the EU and the introduction of a new package of sanctions against Russia.
«We expect a new package of European sanctions against the Russian Federation to encourage it to peace. To peace in our land. So that they understand there, their economy simply will not survive this war», the head of state said.
Zelensky also mentioned that the Cabinet of Ministers approved the initiative to abolish excise duty and VAT on fuel, in particular, on gasoline and diesel.
«This is being done not only in the context of the sowing campaign, which must be started, as always, very quickly, urgently. But also based on the needs of all our citizens of Ukraine. So that there is no shortage of fuel in the country. To keep prices stable. The government has done its part. Now it’s up to the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada… The head of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, is already organizing the relevant meeting», the president said.
Zelensky also announced the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers to compensate the Ukrainian communities that receive migrants from the areas of hostilities, payment utilities.
«According to preliminary estimates, the communities of at least ten regions of Ukraine will receive specific money from the central authorities, so that the migrants are provided with everything», the president said.