Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that peace in Donbas and the end of the Russian occupation in all Ukrainian territories are his main mission as the head of state.
"The end of the war and the de-occupation of all Ukrainian territories is my main mission as the president of Ukraine, and we really count on your support – the diplomatic and sanction-based pressure of all our partners, including Slovakia," Zelenskyy said at a joint news conference with Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová in Kyiv on 16 September.
The Ukrainian president said that Europe would always be exposed to danger while Russia continues violating international law.
"This is necessary not only for Ukraine. The whole Europe, which will always be in danger while the Russian Federation ignores international law, needs this," he said. "A full and permanent ceasefire, the final withdrawal of forces in the area of Stanytsya Luhanska, which should be properly verified by the OSCE, will become the first significant steps on the path to peace," he said.
Zelenskyy expressed the hope that Slovakia, which is the OSCE's chair this year, will continue raising the question of "the complete withdrawal of the occupation forces and the return of the temporarily occupied territories under Ukrainian control".