This is the first meeting of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk on the sidelines of the G7 Summit of the Heads of Parliaments, which is taking place on 05-07 September in Verona, Italy.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament emphasised the value of bipartisan and bicameral support for Ukraine in the US Congress. “We appreciate the importance of the unprecedented assistance provided by the United States to Ukraine to combat russian aggression,” Ruslan Stefanchuk said.
Special attention was paid to the security situation in Ukraine. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine informed his counterpart about the latest terrorist attacks carried out by russia in Ukraine.
“It is critically important to lift all restrictions on the use of American weapons and to obtain the consent of our partners to use the weapons provided to us without any conditions or restrictions. Ukraine should not defend itself with its hands tied, we must be able to strike at russian military targets,” the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament stressed.
Ruslan Stefanchuk called on Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, to do his utmost to support the lifting of restrictions on the use of US weapons.
At the same time, the Head of the Ukrainian Parliament outlined a list of the most important defence needs of the Ukrainian security and defence forces, including air defence systems and F-16 aircraft.
During the meeting, Ruslan Stefanchuk emphasised the need to strengthen sanctions against russia. “I am grateful to the United States for all the restrictions imposed. At the same time, russia must be in total international isolation, and sanctions must demonstrate effectiveness, comprehensiveness and the absence of any possibility of avoiding them,’ he said.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed his gratitude to the US Congress for passing the REPO Act.
Given russia's ongoing attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure, Ruslan Stefanchuk paid special attention to the situation in our country's energy sector.
In conclusion, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk thanked the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson for the leadership of the United States in supporting the President Volodymyr Zelenskyi's Ukrainian Peace Formula.