Zelensky, along with France, Germany, U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Sweden ambassadors visit Donbas near contact line
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, together with ambassadors of the Western countries - partners of Ukraine, visited the forefront in the Joint Forces operation zone in Donbas on Thursday, February 11.
According to the press service of the head of state, the President of Ukraine and diplomats got acquainted with the current situation in the JFO zone, the conditions of service and residence of military personnel.
Together with Zelensky, Ambassadors of France to Ukraine Etienne de Ponsen, Ambassador of Germany Anka Feldhusen, Ambassador of Great Britain Melinda Simmons, Ambassador of Canada Larisa Galadza, Ambassador of Sweden Tobias Thyberg, U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Ukraine Kristina Kvien.
"It is very important that ambassadors of friendly and partner countries see with their own eyes what is happening in Donbas and what consequences the war has caused. Western diplomats should receive firsthand truthful information about how Ukraine fulfills its obligations to establish a ceasefire that the opposite side does not adhere to," Zelensky said.
Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said that Zelensky seeks to personally convey to the military the importance of ceasefire and their extremely important role in preserving it, despite provocations from the enemy.
"Security is security, but these are our people, and they should feel that the president comes to them. This is important for them, because they are fighting for us, for the country. If the president says that he is for the ceasefire regime, then he shows by his arrival that it is important for him," Yermak said.
He reported that the head of state has already passed almost 60% of the contact line.
Yermak noted the importance of the signal from the ambassadors of France and Germany - countries that participate in the Normandy format, as well as from the ambassadors of Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Sweden that Ukraine adheres to the established ceasefire regime.
"Maintaining the ceasefire is the most important. Any further negotiations are impossible to conduct when our people are being killed. It is important that special groups of snipers who are not in permanent deployment, commit murders. That is, it is a provocation, very well organized. They are professional murderers, and this is why they come here," the head of the President's Office said.