President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told Ukrainians on Tuesday evening that May and the following months will be very active for Ukraine in the international arena, with negotiations and other international events that will strengthen the country’s defense capabilities. Most likely, he is referring to the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, where Kyiv wants firm security guarantees and an accession date, during which Ukraine hopes to recapture the occupied territories thanks to an imminent counteroffensive.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy hinted at a counteroffensive at the beginning of his daily address to Ukrainians, but emphasized that all plans remain secret, writes News.ro. He said he had a meeting with the senior army leadership, key commanders and other defense officials. “It is clear that this is a closed meeting, its details are not disclosed. But, like the General Staff meeting, the military cabinet also regularly works on synchronizing our most important defensive and active actions,” said Zelenskyy, then moving on to the second topic of the speech.

Thus, he said that the strengthening of the regime of sanctions against Russia is being prepared – both its own, Ukrainian, and joint with partners. “We are closely monitoring how the terrorist state tries to evade sanctions, recording every such direction and working with our partners to block it. We are preparing a large package of sanctions. The decision will be made in the near future,” Zelenskyy said.

As for international partners, Zelenskyi showed that May and the following months will be very active for Ukraine in the international arena. “There will be a lot of negotiation work, there will be international measures that will strengthen our defense. We are working on everything. Today we had several meetings about what is planned for this week and for the near future,” he said, most likely in preparation for the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, where Zelensky is going, with the hope that he will be firm . security guarantees and, possibly, Ukraine’s accession prospects.

In addition, he noted that on Tuesday he met with a delegation of the Portuguese parliament headed by the president of the legislative forum in Lisbon, who told him what Kyiv expects from the NATO summit in Vilnius.

Zelensky revealed that he also had a meeting with Prime Minister Denys Shmygal. “We agree and prepare a decision. We are preparing conceptual security solutions for the development of Ukraine and our infrastructure both now and after the war. We are also preparing for planned international meetings on the restoration of Ukraine and relevant negotiations with partners,” Zelenskyy explained.

As part of his efforts to expand support for Ukraine to other continents that are more reluctant to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine, such as in Africa, Zelenskyy said he spoke with the head of the African Union, the president of Comoros. “It was an important conversation and an important mutual understanding. I thanked them for their support on global platforms, especially the UN. I invited them to join the implementation of our peace formula and assured that Ukraine is ready to be a reliable guarantor of food security. We are doing everything possible to eliminate any damage caused by Russian aggression, both for our people and for all our partners,” Zelenskyy said, as the export of Ukrainian grain risks reaching a new dead end. The EU has decided to block Ukrainian imports to five countries neighboring Ukraine, allowing only transit, and Russia is threatening to stop transporting Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

At the end of his speech on Tuesday evening, Zelensky, as always, thanked those who protect Ukraine, in particular he mentioned two brigades “that protect the direction of Bakhmut” and “are really effective.” The Ukrainian army, which is preparing for a counteroffensive against Russian troops, promised on Tuesday that it would not surrender the city of Bakhmut in the east of the country.

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