The Armed Forces of Ukraine have liberated and took control of more than 30 settlements in Kharkiv Region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening video address.
"In part of the villages of the region, actions to check and secure the territory continue, we are gradually taking control of new settlements - everywhere we are returning the Ukrainian flag and protection for all our people, " he said. "I am asking Ukrainians from the liberated territory: please give the representatives of our forces any information known to you about the crimes of the occupiers on Ukrainian land."
Units of the National Police are returning to the liberated settlements of Kharkiv Region, he added.
He also thanked Ukraine's intelligence and secret services, "who once again proved themselves very effective in throwing the enemy out".
He also dedicated a substantial part of his speech to the financial and foreign affairs agenda:
"We have good news from the European Union. The provision of EUR 5 billion of macro-financial assistance to our state has been approved. It's very important.
And secondly, there is a decision of the Council of the EU to suspend the visa facilitation agreement signed by the EU and Russia. This decision will be effective from Monday. And there are specific recommendations of the European Commission regarding visa restrictions for citizens of Russia.
This is the protection of Europe, it will make it difficult for those who do not want to change anything, do not want to fight against the war, but just want to consume and have fun, as if nothing is happening in Europe, as if there is no Russian terror.
United Europe is the second target for Russia after our state, our independence. And it is right that Europe defends itself.
Today in Kyiv, I discussed this topic with our friends – the President of Latvia and the Prime Minister of Poland, who arrived on a visit.
Of course, the recommendations at the pan-European level are very important. However, there is legal scope to go further to do more. As the Baltic states and Poland did. A terrorist state can hardly be regarded as a source of tourism or any business visits.
We also talked today about our bilateral cooperation with EU countries. In particular, this concerns the mitigation of procedures at our border. We must remove the barriers that still hinder our citizens and companies. Peoples who together defend European freedom should be as close as possible.
It is known that there are certain difficulties and queues at the Ukrainian-Polish border. I discussed this with the Polish Prime Minister today – we agree on how to solve this problem.
The Prime Minister of Ukraine and his Polish counterpart will agree on all technical details. So today, we discussed the issue of joint customs control, expansion of border crossing points, facilitation of postal exchange between Ukraine and the EU countries - I turned to Mr. Prime Minister of Poland with a proposal to lower the price of postal items. This is important for our people, for everyone who needs special support now.
And one more important aspect: Poland asked us to help in the energy sector, in particular with the export of electricity. Of course, we will provide it. We will always help the Polish brothers who have been helping us since the first day."
