Dear media, it’s great to have you all here. We restored this format of regular spokesperson briefings to provide you with updates on Ukraine’s foreign policy, answer some of your questions. You may know that we`ve already held a number of briefings in Ukrainian for Ukrainian media but we thought it’s time really to have these briefings in English to provide this information to you, for foreign media. So, once again, thank you for coming. I’ll start by informing you about some of our activities before we roll on to the questions section. 

First things first, Minister Sybiha started his tenure on September 6th and since then he held a number of talks with his counterparts. He had overall 27 calls in these ten days, hosted visits by U.S., UK, Polish, and Lithuanian counterparts, and held a number of other important talks. This Sunday, he paid his first visit outside the capital. And this was, symbolically, a visit to the Sumy region, closer to the frontline, to meet our warriors of the 21st Mechanised Brigade that is involved in the Kursk operation. They discussed priority defence needs and the current battlefield situation.  

As the Minister underlines, in classical diplomacy, first visits are an indicator of priorities. And in this sense, by visiting Ukrainian defenders, we signal that they are our utmost priority. Ukrainian diplomacy works first and foremost to strengthen the Ukrainian army, ensure timely and sufficient supplies of weapons from partners, and overall strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities and resilience.  

We are grateful to all of our partners who have stood by Ukraine since the onset of Russia’s full-scale aggression. We continue to work with them in order to enhance support, strengthen a reliable air shield over Ukraine, increase and speed up military aid to Ukrainian defenders, and boost investment in Ukraine’s defence industry. So again, such a great focus on defence cooperation.

The Sumy region that we just visited two days ago suffers greatly from Russian air terror. I guess some of your reposters have visited the Sumy, Kharkiv regions. You know well what's going on there. Only this night there was a Russian mass drone attack against the city of Sumy, which caused destruction and power outages. And we urge partners to condemn this and other attacks and strengthen support for Ukraine, including support for the Sumy region, which is under constant Russian attacks. 

So, Minister Sybiha underscores in his talks with Ukraine’s partners that we need to double our joint efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s economic and energy resilience ahead of winter. This includes energy equipment, macrofinancial assistance, additional air defence capabilities, and other crucial steps. We can see that Russia intensifies its air terror against our country and people. It tries to further damage our energy grid and energy infrastructure. Russian strikes also endanger Ukrainian nuclear energy facilities. In this context, I want to reiterate Minister Sybiha’s call on partners to send monitoring missions to Ukrainian nuclear power plants.  

But even in the circumstances of Russia`s large-scale aggression, Ukraine remains ready to help others in need. We stand in solidarity with all of our neighbours who have been affected by devastating floods. On Sunday, when we just saw the disaster hit them, Ukraine offered neighbours to send our State Emergency Service’s units and equipment to help mitigate the consequences of this natural disaster. We addressed with this proposal of assistance Czechia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.  

By the way, today is Ukraine’s State Emergency Service Day. So, I take this opportunity to reiterate how grateful we are to our brave first responders and rescuers who are always there, at the sights of Russian strikes to help people, to save lives and again you as reporters are probably aware of the incredible role that those people are playing unselfishly in saving lives. We congratulate them on their professional day. 

On a separate note, it may seem less important, but still very important the issue of FIDE and chess federations.

We are greatly concerned over the plans of the FIDE General Assembly to restore the rights of Russia’s and Belarus’ chess federations, allowing their representatives back to the international chess community. Today, three Ukrainian officials, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi, and Head of the Ukrainian Chess Federation Oleksandr Kamyshin, sent an official letter to FIDE, urging the federation to maintain the suspension of athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in any international competitions.  

In this letter they reminded FIDE that this suspension was applied in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, to which Belarus became an accomplice. Russia has been committing unspeakable atrocities in the largest war of aggression in Europe since the Second World War. It killed more than 500 Ukrainian athletes, including 21 chess players, and destroyed numerous sports facilities.  

So, our position is that, if those sanctions were applied because this happened and because this war started and basically nothing changed now in order to change this stance.

In our view, if this appeal that the ministers sent today is ignored, this will be a sufficient basis to consider sanctions against the President of the International Chess Federation, Arkady Dvorkovich. We will address our partners in this regard.  

And one more thing while we are on the cultural front. We are greatly disappointed with the Toronto International Film Festival decision to resume the screening of “Russians at War." We condemn this decision in the strongest terms. This film is a tool of Russian propaganda under the guise of art. Russia has been systematically using art and sports in its hybrid war and propaganda efforts. This is a well-known fact for all of you. What is more puzzling is why such a renowned film festival chooses to ruin its reputation by providing Russia a stage to whitewash its war crimes. Our Foreign Ministry will continue to work actively with our partners to maintain Russia’s isolation in art and other areas, as well as to limit Russian state propaganda. No stage for Russian crimes.

This position has been and remains the same.  One last thing before we turn to questions, you probably saw that we addressed the UN and ICRC inviting them to join humanitarian efforts in the Kursk region. We saw yesterday the reactions from the Kremlin and we think that those reactions are quite telling. As we said yesterday, they are clearly frightened by seeing international observers in this area, seeing the real estate of things. By this reaction they also showed their complete disregard to their own people and their humanitarian needs. So we will follow these developments further and see how further the Kremlin will react to this proposal. I want to reiterate that the Ukraine Defence Forces since the very first day of the Kursk operation demonstrate that they are completely adhere to the International humanitarian law, they provided humanitarian assistance to local population, they provided safe passage for them, proving that the Ukrainian army is civilised professional force adhering to highest standards and values of freedom and democracy. Okay, I will stop this with my introducing remarks, and let's turn to your questions. I'm sure we have plenty of them. Let's start with the first one and then to Veronika's.

Questions from the media

• Are there any indications that other international partners, besides Middle Eastern countries like Turkey, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, are helping with the issue of captured defenders? Is there a broader effort to involve more countries in this initiative?

We are constantly working with a range of partners, including those you named, to help facilitate the exchanges of prisoners of war and the return of our people who are being held illegally—both military and civilian hostages. I would say that in the case of civilian people, it is sometimes even more difficult, as you know, because while the military is swapped, the military for civilians is much more difficult.

Russia is likely the first country to apply the abduction of civilians as part of war effort on such a historic scale, unseen before. We are talking about thousands and thousands of people, unfortunately, and it’s really difficult to return them. But we are working all the time. We are using any international stage, any forum, and any contact with our partners to try and facilitate these returns.

You also know that this is part of Ukraine's President's Peace Formula. A very important humanitarian point of it includes the return of all illegally detained persons from Russian captivity. So, of course, this is a very sensitive issue, and we have specialised institutions working on this, trying to facilitate more of these exchanges.

We saw two exchanges just recently, and we sincerely hope that they will continue. We are working with a range of partners you name and some others to help facilitate that.

• What impact could the appointment of Marta Coz, a Slovenian politician who supports Ukraine's accession but not military aid to Ukraine, as the new EU Commissioner for Enlargement and the EU Commission, have on negotiations with Kyiv?

Look, we have maintained very good contact with the EU and the Commission, and we are confident that under President von der Leyen's leadership, this Commission will remain very cooperative, friendly, and in close touch with Ukraine. So, we have no doubt about this.

I will not comment on the specific personality that you named because we will see their actions. This is our regular unchanged approach: we always look at what people do rather than what they say. Of course, when we have statements which are controversial to our interests or disrespectful to Ukraine or Ukrainian warriors, we of course react. But our primary goal is to look at the actions, not words.

Secondly, as a general position, without referring to the specific person that you mentioned, Ukraine's position on the supply of weapons is unchanged. Ukraine is defending itself according to Article 51 of the UN Charter against illegal and unjustified aggression of Russia. And we have both the moral and legal right to receive military assistance.

We are explaining this to all of our partners and everyone abroad, that this is fully legitimate and this is something that needs to continue. 

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced yesterday that 90% of the victory plan is already drafted. Could you provide insight into the scope of this plan? Does it include the recovery Ukraine needs and the sanctions required from the West to pressure Russia into fair peace negotiations? If so, what specific weapons and sanctions is Ukraine requesting? Additionally, what is the expected timeline for achieving results that would compel Russia into a fair peace agreement, and does the plan encompass the full return of Ukraine’s territories?

Yeah, on the last one, I would like to know that as well, but it's still up to see.

Regarding the victory plan, I know it generates a lot of interest, especially among reporters. This is understandable, and we clearly see that you all want to know the details of this plan. But unfortunately, I will have to disappoint you because I will not disclose the exact details of the plan. You will see them when they are presented, which will be pretty soon, I guess.

Yesterday the President touched upon the victory plan in his evening address yesterday. He said that it's almost ready—90% ready. It includes, again, a number of points: military, which you mentioned, as well as political, diplomatic, and economic aspects. So there are blocks in this victory plan.

Once the President presents it, you will know all the details. I can only say that the things the President will present will certainly strengthen Ukraine, the Ukrainian warriors, and the Ukrainian people.

Again, we will wait until the plan is published, and we will be happy to discuss it with you.

• Today it was generally reported the number of Ukrainian casualties. It was mentioned that around 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 400,000 injured. Could you provide any comments or clarification on these figures?

Unfortunately, I will disappoint you again because this is a decision made by the Ukrainian military leadership. Until the war is over, we are not disclosing exact figures. There were figures that the President was naming last fall, and of course, since then they have probably changed. However, I would refer you to the figures that were already published. And I cannot go beyond that because this is the decision of the military leadership.

I can also say that Ukrainian casualties are times lower than Russian casualties. And Ukrainian overall principle is that we care for our people and their lives. And our military leadership prioritises human lives when conducting warfare, unlike Russia, where we see those as they are called "meat storms" on the Russian side when they are basically sending thousands of people, which will guarantee death, but they are pushing them forward in many places on the front line. This is the only way they can advance by so-called "meat storms".

I know I haven’t covered your interest, but you need to understand I cannot go beyond that.

• Since you're unable to discuss the specifics of the victory plan, could you walk us through the diplomatic process? What are the stages, which parties or countries will you be engaging with, and what is the general timeline for these efforts?

Again, I can say that we will present it pretty soon. It is synchronised with the Peace formula process as well. So, these are not completely isolated things. But on the exact contents, we think that the decisions which are enshrined and which we insist upon, are durable.

And they will indeed speed up the restoration of a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace.

• Could you clarify the process leading up to the presentation of the victory plan? Specifically, how many meetings or discussions will occur before it is presented? Will the plan be made public immediately after its presentation, or is there a possibility that it may not be published at all?

No, it will be, as far as I understand, approximately at the same time. The moment it is presented, it will also become public. So, it will be pretty soon. There will be no long delay between the presentation and the public announcement of the plan.

Could you provide any information about a potential second peace conference in Switzerland?

It's not yet decided whether the Second peace conference will be held in Switzerland. In fact, it will not be in Switzerland, but rather in another place that is still under determination. Once it will be defined and agreed, we will be ready to announce it.

The work on the second summit is ongoing very actively. As you know, we have conferences on specific topics between the first and second summits. Two of these have already been held on energy and food security. 40 and 75 partners and international organisations took part in those two meetings respectively. These meetings took place in August and beginning of September. There will soon be additional meetings focusing on specific items of the Peace formula, including humanitarian item. You will soon see the announcements for these meetings. Just for you to understand the logic.

Those meetings help to clarify and put together a joint vision of how peace should be restored in this or that area. And then we have the entire peace framework agreed between those states and international organisations then we will be able to say that we are ready to hold the Second peace summit. The President was saying that this should happen by the end of the year, and the work is ongoing.

The major principle is that we don't need a summit or meeting merely for its own sake. The summit needs to produce tangible results. As we said, at this Second summit joint position can be presented to Russian representatives. But, before this happens, this peace framework needs to be agreed. It may sound complicated to all of you, but I will just spend one minute to explain why this Peace Formula is so important. 

This war is not a conflict between two states, who cannot decide whose territory it is. It is a clear black and white, war of aggression. One country attacked another country. Ukraine is defending itself against this aggression, this is why it makes it so complicated. And this is why our vision is that we need to have a global diplomatic front of countries that basically apply pressure on the aggressor and force the aggressor to choose peace instead of war. In our view, this is the only way we believe this can work.

For those who are saying that Russia never steps back, I will just advise to look back at the history and how this war started and where we are now. And look at the junkshers along the way to understand that Russia actually does step back, never admits it, but does step back when sufficient pressure—military, political, diplomatic, and economic—is applied on it.

• I wanted to inquire about the Russian funds that are reportedly being channelled through Ukraine to purchase arms and equipment. There is a mention of $1.4 billion involved. Could you clarify how much of this amount is allocated specifically for Ukrainian defence? How much is being used to procure equipment from outside Ukraine? What types of equipment are being purchased within Ukraine? Could you provide more details on this matter?

This is a figure I’ve also seen and confirmed it, it was public. I don’t have the exact figures at hand to tell you what the exact percentage is. What went to defence or what went to buying Ukrainian weapons. However, I can confirm that the money is used for both purposes.

Our position is that all frozen assets and their windfall profits and percentage profits, all of this, needs to be used for supporting Ukraine. By supporting Ukraine we mean different areas, including military defence, recovery, energy and all of the areas. We don't want to specify that. We have already made some brave decisions on the windfall profits, but Ukraine's position remains that we need to use all of them, profits and assets as well.

We know that there are a number of doubts on the part of our partners regarding this decision, that it might have consequences, and how legal it is. Our strong positions, and we made it crystal clear many times, that it's completely legal. International law provides ground for the confiscating and using those frozen assets. Moreover, we don’t think this step will destabilise the financial system or undermine trust in European reserve currencies. First of all, there are no alternatives to these currencies, so we cannot say this will lead to choosing other jurisdictions by other countries. And secondly, when we are acting in defence of international law this is something that is beneficial for everyone. It also sends a signal to all who wanna be aggressors that “look, if you violate international law in such a brutal manner and want to redraw borders by force, then you will pay on the battlefield, you will pay legally, you will pay by your money. And we think it's a completely justified morally and legally position. And we will continue to work with partners to achieve those further steps.

From the very beginning, Ukraine has insisted that these assets need to be supplementary or additionally to the aid that is already provided, so not a substitution. We firmly remain in this position and we view them as an additional resource to support ongoing efforts.

• When exactly was the money released? Can you provide details on the specific timing, such as the month? Additionally, can you confirm whether these funds have already been used, and if so, have there been any actual purchases made for the Ukrainian defence industry?

The role of the Foreign Ministry is to be a political hammer that actually achieves decisions. When it comes to the exact implementation, we can also help you with providing updates, but we'll need some time to just coordinate with our institutions responsible for receiving those money and using them. You are free to make a request, and we will follow up with some detailed information. Our aim as the Foreign Ministry is to make things possible, butthen on the exact implementation we need to talk to some of our colleagues and collect information to provide it to you. We will be happy to provide you with additional information.

• Will Ukraine request the use of long-range defence systems against Russia again? Also, when is Ukrainian President Zelenskyy scheduled to visit Europe next week, and what are the implications if Ukraine does not receive permission for these systems?

So, Ukraine continues to work with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and other partners to make this happen. We have made it very clear on many occasions that this is a legitimate thing to do and something that Ukraine really requires. This work is still ongoing, but we hope that the relevant decisions will be made. So, this is something we work on. I won’t spoil it now by announcing that werther this decision will be made at this specific point that you referred to or not. We will see if that happens.

But I can just reiterate that this topic is on top of the agenda of the President’s and the Minister’s talks with their partners. And we need these decisions to strengthen our war effort.

You said: what happens if this decision does not come? We have wartime diplomacy here, so we actually are always focused on achieving Plan A, focused on achieving the result we need. And I will not hypothesise what we are going to do if we are not receiving it. You have seen over the past few years how Ukraine uses whatever capabilities it has to fight the aggressor, push the Russians back, and gain an upper hand on the battlefield. This is something that we are going to do regardless of any decisions and anything that happens.

• I understand correctly that the United Nations has not responded to the Foreign Ministry’s recent authorization to send a mission to the Kursk region. Is that right? Additionally, recently Chancellor Scholz mentioned the need to start considering negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Are you concerned that these discussions might be happening without Ukraine’s involvement?

On your first question, I would prefer the speakers of the UN and ICRC comment on this, not the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. We did our step and we anticipated our reply. I think they are studying this request and we will have to see when they are ready to follow up. For Ukraine, it is important even to make this step, because by making it we have already demonstrated that we have nothing to hide and that International Humanitarian Law is being abided in these territories. Ukraine is open to UN and ICRC operations there and l assist humanitarian effort, as there is still a local population. The Ukrainian army cares for them. Of course we would welcome the international component of this humanitarian effort. So, we have to see whether they reply and how and whether there will be more reactions from Moscow.

Regarding Chancellor Scholz’s recent statement about the need to start thinking about negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, I want to make it clear that Germany has repeatedly emphasised that it supports President Zelensky’s Peace Formula. And Germany takes an active part in putting the Peace Formula in action. They are co-leaders of the working group on environmental safety and they are participating in other groups. So this process is ongoing, we really value Germany's active role in this process of putting the Peace Formula in action.

You are right that the principle of "no decisions on Ukraine without Ukraine" is ironclad  and must be followed regardless and Ukraine insists on this. Ukraine insists that no decisions can and should be taken without Ukraine meaning the peace process. We are fully confident that Germany abides by this principle and will not violate it. We have full confidence with them, full trust with them. Chancellor Scholz’s support for Ukraine has been extraordinary and remains extraordinary

Again, when we talk about specific words in this or that interview we need to understand that every country has its own domestic politics, every country has its own public opinion, and every leader or politician of course cares for this opinion and may make this or that statements. We have full confidence in Chancellor Scholz and his commitment to the Peace Formula which is the only way and realistic path to a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace.

• Do you have contact with the U.S. presidential candidates' foreign policy teams, including former President Trump's and Vice President Kamala Harris's? Are you discussing potential challenges or differences, especially regarding scepticism towards Ukraine?

I don’t think this is a very tough question, and the answer is pretty simple. We do maintain contact with both parties in the U.S. Congress, with the administration, and with the candidates and their teams. This is pretty normal because Ukraine has always relied on strong bipartisan support in the U.S. There are so many things that divide Republicans and Democrats in the United States, but one thing that always united them is support for Ukraine. We know that there are fractions in both parties with alternative views, this is normal, this is democracy. We in Ukraine also have democracy and various views on issues, but the mainstream and the bottomline is that the U.S. is our key ally and we enjoy support for Ukraine in both parties. This makes us confident that this support will continue.

Furthermore, I think you will agree that Ukraine enjoys support among the American public, and this is the most important thing for us. Americans understand in mass the cause Ukraine is fighting for and why this is so important for the United States not only for Ukraine. 

Again, yes, we maintain contact and I think I should also briefly touch upon the recent assassination attempt on the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, just to say a few things to clarify, because there were so many reports, so many speculations on this topic regarding these aspects, political views.

I want to make it very clear, and actually President Zelenskyy made a tweet a few days ago in response to the assassination attempt on the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump where he said that the rule of law is paramount and that political violence has no place anywhere in the world. Just to reiterate this Ukraine strongly condemns this criminal act and all forms of political violence. We are glad that this suspect was comprehended so quickly. And we want to emphasise that tht suspect has no ties to Ukrainian government institutions and has never fought for Ukraine as part of the international legion or other units of Ukrainian defence forces. Yes, we can see from the news reports that the suspect previously publicly supported Ukraine, but there are hundreds of millions of people in the United States who support Ukraine and clearly they are a divorce group of individuals. We urge  everyone to refrain from artificially linking this suspect to  Ukraine.

We are confident that U.S. law enforcement will conduct a thorough investigation of the case and ensure accountability. If the U.S. makes a relevant request, Ukraine is prepared to provide necessary assistance in investigating this case. I hope I cleared it.

• With the new French government still forming and Marine Le Pen's party emerging as a key player, are you concerned about potential shifts in France's foreign policy, especially given her past stance on Russia and opposition to long-range missiles? How might this impact Ukraine's support from France?

These are domestic affairs of France, and we don’t interfere in them. We are not worried about France’s support, because we know both President Macron and the majority of the legislators are in favour of futhers supporting Ukraine, taking some really bold and decisive actions to increase this support.

When it comes to the political process, I'm not in a position to comment or interfere with it. But we are working with all political forces in this country to explain that Ukraine’s course is defending Europe. If you want to have a safe and prosperous and free Europe, the recipe is simple -  supporting Ukraine with everything it needs to defend itself, to make Russian aggression fail. If Russian aggression does not fail, it will go further. It's very simple. And I think that the French public in general regardless of political affiliation needs to understand how serious this moment is and why continuing support is so important.

• Could you provide an update on the outcomes of the First Peace Summit? Specifically, what is the current status of the collaborative groups and the documents they were preparing for Russia? Has the procedure changed?

The work is actively ongoing since the First Peace Summit. The summit was just the commencement of the process, not an isolated event. Since then, we have seen a number of countries and organisations join the final communiqué of the summit and we continue to work to expand this number of countries that joined the final communiqué, showing support not only for Ukraine but also for the UN Charter and international law in general.

As you mentioned, there are working groups and conferences taking place between the First and Second Summits. Their goal is to elaborate a joint vision on this or that area, and then we will generalise them and put them together into what we call a “peace framework”. When this is finalised and we know that we have this “peace framework”, we will be able to say that the Second Summit is coming. We need a resultative summit, not just a meeting for the sake of the meeting.

The logic has remained unchanged, and the work is still ongoing to meetings already been held. The third such meeting is just days away as far as I know, and there will be more meetings on specific Peace Formula items.

• Will the peace framework be introduced to Russia before or during the Second Summit? And is there any indication that Russia will participate in the summit?

Again, we made it very clear, even in the final communiqué, that Russia may take part in certain forms in the Second Peace Summit. But regarding the peace framework first needs to be finalised and agreed between the partners and the international community, between this general diplomatic front. Only after that it can be presented to Russia. I'm not ready to say now whether this will be right before the summit or during the summit. Let's cross bridges one by one. First see the peace framework finalised, and then we will find the way how to communicate it and through whom to Russian representatives.

• Has there been an official request from American authorities to provide information or collaborate on the case of Ryan Routh? Do you know if there have been any discussions or actions regarding this?

Not to my knowledge.

• I’d like to return to the peace process and ask if the Second Peace Summit is expected to occur before or after the US elections. Also, what role does India currently play in the Ukrainian peace process?

I will not speculate on the exact timing, because it's premature. However, I can say that India is a very important partner for Ukraine. We see India as a global force that can really influence the dynamics and the course of the events. We really want to see India's engagement in the Peace Formula process because India can indeed make a difference.

• Why is the UK seeking American approval for UK-made missiles to strike deep inside Russia? Additionally, why is American approval a general consideration in this context?

Well, this is something for them to reply to, not me. We are happy to receive this permission already today and start using this permission. As for the question of “why,” we have seen in the past the number of steps or decisions that needed to be taken when countries relied on a coalition of allies to make a collective decision. We understand that some major steps require this coalition. The same goes for using partner air defences in neighbouring NATO countries to intercept Russian drones and missiles over Ukraine. Again, we see that there is readiness but it needs to be a collective will and support for those moves to be able to take them.

Our goal at the Foreign Ministry is to generate this consolidated will and coalition that will enable those strikes. We take it with the understanding that some of the partners need the support of others, but we just urge them to make decisions as soon as possible because every day of delay in Ukraine means lost lives. We are not in peacetime mode here in Kyiv. We cannot really sit and wait for decisions for weeks and months because here people’s lives rely on some of the decisions, military aid and other things.. This has been our consistent position since the beginning of the full-scale war: we needed decisions yesterday. This also applies to this matter as well.

• Can you comment on how improving relationships with countries like South Africa and India is crucial for Ukraine's development, beyond its usual defence contacts and European allies?

Ukraine does not view the world as divided into "the West" and "the Global South". We see even the term "the Global South" as very artificial. We treat every partner with respect, regardless of their region and part of the world. And this is why we have made enormous efforts since 2022 to reach out to some of the countries outside Europe and North America, who have been neutral, who thought that this war is too far away and doesn't affect them and wanted to take a neutral stance. So we made enormous efforts to reach out to them and you can see this effort in signatures for the final Peace Summit communique and found how many non-European and non-North American signatures are there. You can see that this effort bears fruit.

We will continue this important work, because we see enormous opportunities not only regarding the peace process but also regarding bilateral development, and economic cooperation and some other mutually beneficial things in many-many parts of the world: Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and the Gulf countries. We have doubled our diplomatic presence in Africa since 2022.  We had ten embassies in 2022 and by the end of this year we will have twenty. I think this speaks for itself about how Ukraine`s pushed its natural circle of allies in Europe and North America and explained that this cause is global and universal. Ukraine can be beneficial for those countries in many areas.

It's not only about picking sides: about Russia or Ukraine. It's about mutual benefit. We can help many countries with things we have and w e can also expect some of the things from them.

• How does Ukraine view the peace initiatives from China and Brazil, especially considering recent criticism that these proposals lacked consultation with Ukraine? Why do you think these proposals may not be beneficial for Ukraine?

Again, we emphasise that the Peace Formula proposed by Ukraine is the only realistic path towards a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace. We know that there are many other initiatives, proposals. Some countries are proposing mediation, some countries put forward their initiatives. We see this all, but we remind all of them that there is a mainstream process called the Peace Formula. Around a hundred countries and international organisations support it. And we call everyone to join those efforts. Anyone who wants to make a real contribution to restoring peace in Ukraine, security in Europe and globally can join the efforts within the Peace Formula process.

As regards the China-Brazil proposal, I can reiterate and elaborate on the President’s words saying that nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. When a certain country puts forward a proposal or a plan without consulting with Ukraine, then of course we are disappointed in its actions. And we spoke about it in China during our delegation this summer. We openly discussed it. And we openly discussed those visions that China has and that Ukraine has. We actually found that many items are similar if we look at them. It’s more about avoiding this competition of plans; it’s not about competition, it’s about restoring peace and saving lives. We think that the Peace Formula is the most advanced and realistic path to making Russia stop its  aggression. And we call everyone to join it.

Thank you, colleagues. We will always be glad to see you again! 

Have a great day!

Video of the briefing is available here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/hP7P1NLNRgucZPoq/?mibextid=Tifg6m