President of Ukraine met with the Speakers of the Parliaments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia who arrived in Kyiv

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen and President of the Riigikogu of the Republic of Estonia Jüri Ratas who arrived in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian President noted the importance of their visit to Ukraine despite the

difficult security situation caused by the Russian invasion.

"From the first hours you are with us - at the level of leaders, at the level of nations. That is why we are grateful to you. In Ukraine, everyone understands this, everyone appreciates it," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"The highest trust of the people of Ukraine is in your countries and in Poland, it is true. This corresponds to the steps you have taken towards Ukraine," he added.

The President praised the signing today in Kyiv of a joint statement by the Speakers of the Parliaments of Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in support of our state.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude for signing a joint statement "On the Urgent Need to Modernize the Air Defense of Ukraine", which was signed by representatives of the parliaments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

"We welcome all the legislative initiatives in support of Ukraine that you are talking about and fulfilling in your parliaments, as well as in the international arena. You were also among the first to help with weapons," he said.

The President briefed the Speakers of the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Parliaments on the consequences of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, noting that Russian troops were deliberately attacking the civilian population and destroying peaceful infrastructure. The aggressor is trying to besiege large cities such as Mariupol, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, creating a humanitarian catastrophe in many settlements.

According to the President, in order to effectively protect citizens, including civilians, Ukraine needs weapons - air defense, aircraft and armored vehicles.

Military and financial assistance from the Baltic States and other partner countries is vital for Ukraine today, said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He also stressed the importance of further strengthening sanctions against Russia, including the imposition of a full embargo on any trade with Russia and Belarus, as well as the disconnection of all Russian banks from the SWIFT system. This will deprive the Russian military machine of funding and force Moscow to seek peace.

The President thanked Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for their active support of our country's accelerated movement towards membership in the European Union. He noted that given Ukraine's defense of European values in the war with Russia, our country deserves an accelerated procedure for joining the EU.