President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discussed pressing issues of Ukrainians from Crimea with Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Anton Korynevych and his deputies Darya Svyrydova and Tamila Tasheva.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Head of State asked the leadership of the representative office in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea to inform him what assistance he, as President, can provide in day-to-day activities. Zelensky noted that he would like to receive information about the situation on the Crimean peninsula directly from people living there, the presidential press service reported.

"If not with our own eyes, then with the eyes of people living in Crimea. So that they can give us information and we can receive it via you," he said.

The president of Ukraine informed of the plans to build a settlement in the Kherson region for IDPs from Crimea, including more than 500 families of Crimean Tatars. Respective agreements were reached during his meeting with the President of Turkey. "We want to build such a settlement. We have to start this year. What we need from you is communication and control," Zelensky stressed.

According to the president, a special hub with developed infrastructure will be created at Chonhar checkpoint on the administrative border with the temporarily occupied Crimea for comfortable crossing of the checkpoint by Ukrainians. In addition, high-quality roads will be built and transport connections will be provided.

"My idea is that they can see how we treat people, Crimeans. You arrive and see a "garden city." You feel the difference, as everything is at the highest level here: gas station, school, kindergarten, houses," the president said, urging Korynevych to become the driving force of this project.

Zelensky also emphasized the importance of implementing a program that simplifies the procedure of studying in Ukrainian higher education institutions for the children from the occupied territories.

"For them to immediately receive all the documents at the checkpoint and be aware of the possibility of entering any university," the Head of State said.

The president's representative informed that a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Human Rights took place at Chonhar checkpoint with participation of the inhabitants of the peninsula on February 12. During this meeting, the Crimeans spoke about the violation of their rights in Crimea, as well as the importance of unhindered access to high-quality medical, educational, administrative and other services.

Korynevych thanked Zelensky for his attention to the activities of the Representative Office in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and stressed the importance of further joint work on the problem of the occupied territories "to keep Crimea on the agenda."

In addition, Korynevych urged the president to help speed up the finalization of the bill on the protection of political prisoners, outlined his vision of the concept of transitional justice and stressed the importance of supporting the Crimean Tatar people.

Zelensky supported the proposal to create a special fund to provide grants to the talented Crimeans for their development, education, and representation of our country in the international field.

"This is a purely humanitarian initiative. It will show that this state is waiting for them, that Ukraine is Europe and freedom indeed," Korynevych said.