Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with a bipartisan delegation of the US House of Representatives, consisting of Donald Norcross, Celeste Maloy and Jimmy Panetta in Kyiv.
Zelenskyy thanked the American delegation for visiting Kyiv and Odesa.
During the meeting, Zelenskyy praised the support of the United States in countering Russian aggression, especially in the context of supplying Ukraine with F-16 aircraft.
“I thank the American society for the important assistance to Ukraine from the very beginning of this war. We are grateful to President Joseph Biden, both houses of Congress and both parties. And we highly appreciate the decision of the Congress to support our army.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
The parties discussed in detail the strengthening of Ukraine’s defense capabilities and the priority needs of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
The Ukrainian President stressed the importance of obtaining additional air defense equipment for the effective protection of civilians and critical infrastructure, as well as the need for our country to expand training missions for Ukrainian pilots and technicians in the United States.
The parties also paid special attention to Ukraine’s progress on its path to Euro-Atlantic integration.
Zelenskyy thanked the United States for its active participation in the preparation and holding of the first Peace Summit in Switzerland and outlined further steps aimed at implementing its results and promoting the Peace Formula.
In a post on X, he said that “F-16s are already in Ukrainian skies, and there will be more.”
US-made F-16 fighter jets had been long sought after by Ukraine to protect its skies against Russian missiles.
Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine “combined political, diplomatic, and military efforts for this purpose” and “gradually, step by step, we managed to achieve the result.”
Ukraine’s First Lady Discusses Mental Health With U.S Delegation
Separately, First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska met with the bipartisan delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives in Kyiv.
The President’s wife, like her husband, thanked the United States for supporting Ukraine from the very beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the mental health of Ukrainians, specifically the influence of the war on it.
“Resilience and strength to fight require powerful internal resources, especially mental ones. This is an invisible force, the quality of which affects processes both at the level of individual human life and at the level of the country.”
Olena Zelenska
Zelenska asserted that the restoration and preservation of the mental health of Ukrainians is a priority of the state agenda, as well as an active area of cooperation with international partners.
The First Lady spoke about the implementation of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program, initiated by her two years ago.
“No mental health system in the world has ever faced a challenge of this scale and complexity. Therefore, there is no ready-made solution for implementation. Our experts are synthesizing a Ukrainian solution from the best practices of other countries.”
Olena Zelenska
“So far, study visits have been made to the United States, Belgium, Poland, Australia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and a visit to Canada is planned,” Zelenska added.
These visits have led to specific projects: training in the peer-to-peer method, building a coordination network, implementing neuro- and biofeedback techniques, transforming higher medical education, and creating centers for children and adolescents.
The President’s wife expressed hope for cooperation with the United States in this area.
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