International solidarity helps Ukraine to survive in difficult times: Oleksandr Korniienko meets with President of the Landtag of Bavaria
The First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko held a meeting with Ilse Aigner, President of the Bavarian Landtag.
Since the beginning of russia's full-scale aggression, the federal state of Bavaria has been actively supporting Ukraine, providing humanitarian aid and medical resources, among other things. Bavaria has also hosted a large number of Ukrainian refugees, providing them with safe haven. This assistance is an important part of international solidarity and helps Ukraine to withstand these difficult times.
On behalf of the entire Ukrainian Parliament, Oleksandr Korniienko thanked the state of Bavaria represented by Ilse Aigner for the practical and important assistance to our country in the face of a full-scale russian invasion. «In these three years, we have already seen a great deal of interaction between our parliaments. This dialogue is a way to strengthen democratic institutions and cooperation. I have proposed a structured partnership or dialogue format between the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Bavarian State Parliament. The exchange of best practices in local government, sustainable development and social policy would be mutually beneficial,» the First Deputy Speaker said.
He expressed gratitude for the political role and support that Germany and other countries provide to Ukraine and stressed that the restoration of our country is becoming an urgent priority. He invited Bavaria to take an active part in the restoration of our country through business partnership, municipal twinning and knowledge transfer.
During the meeting, Oleksandr Korniienko touched upon the topic of Ukraine's negotiations with russia to resolve the war, noting that two meetings have already taken place and the main result so far is the exchange of prisoners. At the same time, he drew attention to problems, including russia's unwillingness to return the defenders of Azovstal and the mass deportation of Ukrainian children. He cited data on twenty thousand deported children, of whom only a few hundred are being returned. According to him, russia does not recognise the scale of the deportation and is trying to convince the world that the children were evacuated for safety reasons. At the same time, many of the deportees have already become adults, and this situation threatens to lose an entire generation of Ukrainians. He spoke about the harsh ideological influence on our children in russia, including the ban on using Ukrainian names and forced participation in military programmes.
He provided detailed information about the situation with children forcibly deported to the occupied territories or to russia. «There are thousands of them. Thousands of children who are far from their homes and families, whose identity is being destroyed. The involvement of the international community is extremely important for the return of all of them home, liberation from the occupation hands of the kremlin and freedom,» emphasised Oleksandr Korniienko.
Oleksandr Korniienko called Ilse Aigner's visit a powerful testimony of friendship, solidarity and support as Ukraine continues to defend its freedom and sovereignty. «Awarded Mrs President with the Certificate of Honour of the Verkhovna Rada for special services to the Ukrainian people - we highly appreciate her personal involvement and consistent support from Bavaria,» summed up the First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.