Mariupol city is actively involved in the program of creating additional conditions for people with disabilities, which was developed and is being implemented under the auspices of Olena Zelenska. The office of Mariupol's mayor supported this program and was one of the first in Ukraine to start its implementation.

Many new fields of activity have become available for people with disabilities. Orthodoxy, which is the basis of our morality and ethics, has always appealed to love for one's neighbour, to compassion, willingness to help and protect. It is clear that in our pragmatic and selfish age, these are the qualities that help us remain human. In this case, we are talking about thousands of our fellow citizens who need to feel care from society. They have the right to enjoy all the benefits of civilization. By law, we are all equal, and everyone should have access to education, sports, cultural activities, healthcare and social services.

The new program implemented by the Mariupol mayor's office can become an example of a genuine human attitude to human problems. I hope that in the future pilot projects of the program implemented in Mariupol will find support at the national level and will be implemented everywhere as an example of caring for people with special needs.

Dear friends, congratulations on the Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy!

Today, together with the entire Orthodox world, we celebrate the victory of the Church over heresies and schisms that have existed at all times.

The tradition of praying in front of icons, known since apostolic age, was interrupted during a period of the great delusion that is iconoclasm.

In the 8^th century, the secular authorities intervened in church life and accused the true Orthodox Church, which defeated paganism, of idolatry.

Heretics, backed by political power, began to put pressure on the Church demanding to abandon the veneration of icons.

True Christians had to fight for the right to depict Jesus Christ, God’s Mother and pray in front of icons.

The staunchest guardians of the Orthodox faith suffered and were martyred.

This period lasted over a hundred years, but the time of a clear separation of truth and falsehood has come.

The latest decisions of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine to ban broadcasting of TV channels and impose sanctions against some citizens of Ukraine and the Russian Federation, as well as against a list of legal entities accused of financing terrorism, raise major concerns. The NSDC is an important collective body in the structure of the presidential power, and it is entitled to consider such questions and impose sanctions, within the framework stipulated by the Constitution and legislation. And sanctions indeed are a powerful and effective tool for protecting the national security of Ukraine. However, it is unacceptable that the NSDC is used as an instrument of pressure on journalists, public figures and leaders of political parties.

If the Ukrainian authorities have enough evidence of the illegal actions of Viktor Medvedchuk, members of his family and his team, this evidence should become public and a subject of judicial scrutiny. The NSDC is not the Supreme Court, not the highest judicial body. Any data of intelligence agencies, any analytical information is only an element of the evidence base, but cannot be a substitute for a judicial verdict. In a democratic society, the constitutionally stipulated presumption of innocence, and the rights and freedoms of citizens must function.

Today is the day of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. 32 years ago, it seemed that this was the last war in which our same-age peers had to take part. Moreover, it was not a war, but rather a mistake, misunderstanding, a crime of politicians. This war did not arouse a sense of justice, despite the fact that Soviet men demonstrated heroism and dedication. And it seemed to us that there would be no more wars within our living memory – the whole history of the Afghan "epic" led us to this conclusion. The Soviet Union just began to collapse, and thousands of "Afghans" – Afghan War veterans – found themselves without any social aid and protection from the state... But the Friendship Bridge and General Gromov walking across this bridge, the last to leave the Afghan land, remain in our memory forever...

Dear friends, congratulations on the Great Feast of the Presentation of Lord Jesus at the Temple!

The Presentation of the Lord at the Temple is one of the most joyful and long-awaited feasts. It is the forerunner of a new life, a spiritual spring.

On the fortieth day after his birth, Baby Jesus was greeted by Simeon the elder at the temple.

With the words "now lettest thou depart" the saint professed the joy on the occasion of the end of the waiting time.

The whole life of humankind before the coming of the Lord was a weary waiting for the joy from a long-awaited meeting. With the advent of the Saviour to this world, the fear of the unknown was defeated, and a new life began.

A truly unhealthy situation with freedom of speech and the activities of the mass media has developed in Ukraine. The closure of three television channels, as well as the Nazi radicals' attempts to attack NASH TV channel, are an alarming signal to society that the practice of silencing of dissent, which was so actively harnessed during the Petro Poroshenko time, is coming back to the country. Journalists who have opinions different from the official ones are labelled as “separatists”, “vatniks” (sort of Pro-Russian jingoists) and “agents of Moscow”. The channels are accused of "working for enemy propaganda" without a court order and thorough examination. A new wave of “witch hunt” commences.

In this situation, the first thing attention should be drawn to is the basic principle of democracy – the principle of freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine. Whatever the pretext is, no matter how noble the goals are, it is obvious that the principle of freedom of speech is grossly violated.

Today is the sixth anniversary of the barbaric shelling of Skhidnyi micro-district in Mariupol, which claimed lives of 31 people and left 117 wounded victims. Most of the dead were civilians, including children. Remembering the victims of those bloody events, we must again and again ask the authorities when peace will come to our land again. The war has been going on for almost seven years, and even a truce on the contact line still brings us news of the dead and wounded. A truce is far from peace. This means that we live with a constant sense of foreboding that tragedies similar to the one that took place in January 2015 may repeat themselves. That is why it is so important today to unite for the sake of peace, to demand from the authorities active steps to restore peace, as well as to fight against those who are propagandizing the war.

Eternal memory to the victims! And let the real peace and quiet, which will surely come to the land of Ukraine, become a symbolic monument in remembrance of them!

Святитель Николай - один из любимейших святых нашей Церкви. Он воплотил в жизнь главные заповеди Божии: возлюби Бога и возлюби ближнего своего как самого себя.

Любить - значит приносить себя в жертву другому человеку. Это Божий путь. И святитель показал нам этот путь своими чудесными подвигами и самоотверженным служением людям.

Святой без слов угадывал, в чем нуждается человек и старался помочь. Только любовью наполненное сердце способно на такое. Праздник - это всегда возможность сделать что-то доброе и приятное: порадовать близких, помочь далеким. Не будем пренебрегать этим.

Пусть тепло наших сердец согреет тех, кто нуждается в помощи, заботе, словах поддержки, пусть мир всегда пребывает в наших душах и домах, пусть родные и дорогие нам люди будут всегда рядом, пусть вера в добро никогда не покидает нас.

Мира, любви и радости!

С праздником!

Yesterday, some media outlets released information about “the opening of a case against people's deputy (MP) Novynskyi", referring to RBC-Ukraine as the information source.

Today, the Office of the Prosecutor General gave its official clarification according to which Vadym Novynskyi is not “a person who committed a criminal offense or is suspected of committing it” in the criminal proceedings mentioned in the RBC publication. The requested response from the director of the Kyiv-based Territorial Administration of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) contains similar information.

According to the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, Vadym Novynskyi has not been served with any notice of charges under the said proceedings.

In this regard, the information distributed by RBC-Ukraine about the “opening of a case AGAINST MP Novynskyi" is false and damages the reputation of the MP. Vadym Novynskyi's press service demands that RBC-Ukraine publishes a refutation of the incorrect information and brings its official apology, as well as asks other media outlets to exclude this incorrect information from their publications.

The Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Ukraine should take a more active position and initiate a deferral of payments and, possibly, a restructuring of the state debt. On 21-22 November, Riyadh hosted a very important G20 Summit under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia. One of its outcomes was the final Declaration, in which the G20 States set down their intention to extend the deferral of debt repayments for the world's poorest countries to a total of USD 5.7 billion until mid-2021.

Ukraine could also initiate negotiations with international creditors to have our external obligations reviewed. To ask for help, we should not wait for the catastrophic deterioration in the economic situation to the level of countries that were granted debt rescheduling by G20. The war, deindustrialization, a sharp drop in foreign investment, and now the coronavirus pandemic put the chances of our economic recovery at threat.

Dear veterans of the Great Patriotic War!

Dear compatriots!

Today we celebrate the 77^th anniversary of the liberation of Kyiv from the Nazis.

On 6 November 1943, the troops of the First Ukrainian Front under the command of Army General Nikolai Vatutin liberated the capital of Ukraine from the Nazi invaders having run a successful Kyiv offensive operation. This was a hard-won liberation. Thousands of soldiers died a hero’s death and remained forever in the Kyiv land. 65 units and formations of the Soviet Army received the honorary title of Kyiv.

We are proud of their feat and remember our heroes who defended Kyiv. Our heroic people withstood, showed their valour, courage and will to victory. The heroism of the victors is our common shrine and pride. This is the greatness of our people. And we will carefully preserve and protect our heroic legacy from attempts to rewrite history and turn the Great Victory into sorrow and reconciliation with the enemy. Let the losers grieve, let those who are unable to learn from the tragic pages of history reconcile with Nazism. For us, the memory of the war and the Great Victory is sacred.

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the death of Viktor Chernomyrdin, a very good friend of Ukraine and a great patriot of Russia, a man who did a lot to ensure that our peoples and countries live in peace and harmony.

I very often recall Viktor Stepanovich, his wisdom and human charm. I was fortunate to be in close touch with this politician and diplomat. Unfortunately, in 2014 and in subsequent years, there was no public figure equal to Viktor Chernomyrdin in the sphere of Ukrainian-Russian relations. He knew how to find a way out of the most difficult situations, how to convince, and foresee. And, I am sure, if he were alive, the history of relations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation could develop according to a different scenario.

Today a vessel named after Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin was launched in Saint Petersburg. A worthy perpetuation of his memory! I would very much like Ukraine to begin to honour its real heroes – those who created the glory of the country, contributed to its development, won the Victory, and not collaborators and perpetrators whose main "valour" was willingness to betray and the ability to hate.

A statement by Oleksiy Reznikov, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, a representative of Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, who called the Donbass a "cancerous tumour" on the body of Ukraine, and its inhabitants – "mentally sick", gives evidence of reinforcement of the "war party" that is trying to continue the line of escalation of the conflict in the East of Ukraine.

“These are sick territories, mentally sick as well. There is an option of complete resection, amputation, or treatment. I am for therapy and full restoration of our body,” said Reznikov, making it clear that he is far from seeking compromises in this matter.

It is noteworthy that such statements are made at a time when the self-proclaimed republics submit their roadmap for resolving the conflict to the Ukrainian side for consideration, and this project has many positive and acceptable points. At the very least, this document could be seen as significant progress in the negotiations. The Ukrainian side had to say its word. If statement by Reznikov is Ukraine's response, then it is the Ukrainian side that now demonstrates its inability to negotiate, in the eyes of the world community.

The current situation related to the Constitutional Court’s decision to abolish e-declarations system, and the presidential bill on the termination of powers of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine highlighted two major problems that deal a heavy blow to the foundations of statehood: firstly, the interference of the Office of the President in the activities of the judicial branch, and, secondly, the interference of foreign states in the internal affairs of Ukraine.

The foundation for the current conflict was laid by Petro Poroshenko’s regime, by his so-called reform of justice and judicial system. The parliament lost its power to dismiss judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine for violation of their oath precisely as a result of changes to the Constitution in 2016. In the course of the so-called “lustration,” many professional lawyers were dismissed, hundreds of courts were dissolved, and “manually managed” puppet judges loyal to the authorities were appointed. Ten out of fifteen judges of the current Constitutional Court of Ukraine were also appointed by Petro Poroshenko’s regime. The politicization of the constitutional justice system is the main reason why the incumbent Constitutional Court, for example, has been unsuccessful in considering the constitutional petition on termination of lustration for more than six years, and the language law petition for more than a year.

Dear compatriots!

76 years ago, on 28 October 1944, after the successful Eastern Carpathian strategic offensive, the Soviet Army came up to the western border of the Ukrainian SSR. Ukraine was liberated from the Nazis.

We will always remember our soldiers-liberators who defeated the German Nazi invaders. We will remember those who fought on the front line, and those who expedited the Victory in the rear, soldiers, mothers, and children. This memory is a true identity and genetic code of our people – the great victorious people who expelled Nazism from our land and revived the country after the war.

A statement by Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC), made us doubt about the time we live in and the irreversibility of the changes that came after the presidential elections in 2019. It seems that Mr. Danilov is trying to return to the propaganda methods that Oleksandr Turchynov and Petro Poroshenko were going by at their time. However, unlike Turchynov, Danilov does not openly attack the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but speaks of some "religious organizations" that initiate conferences, forums and religious processions, being "an instrument of the hybrid war and the Russian world". With his statement Danilov slyly hints and provokes. He cannot but understand that such statements incite sectarian strife in the society, which seemingly subsided with President Zelenskyy coming to office.

According to the Constitution, the NSDC Secretary is a person reporting directly to the President. It would be interesting to know whether Mr. Danilov coordinated his statement with Volodymyr Zelenskyy? Or does every secretary in our country think of himself as the General Secretary?

A call for new presidential elections in the Republic of Belarus is a politicized and thoughtless step from the Verkhovna Rada, which could jeopardise Ukraine's relations with this neighbouring state and, in particular, could jeopardise the work of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, destroying the platform for dialogue. This is why I voted against the corresponding draft Resolution in the Parliament today.

Only interests of Ukraine, and not those of third parties, should be the priority of our foreign policy. And interests of Ukraine consist in preserving and developing good neighbourly relations with the Republic of Belarus.

Belarus and its President Alexander Lukashenko have always been very correct and friendly towards Ukraine, not recognizing the annexation of Crimea and providing a platform for negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the situation in the Donbas.

Dear schoolchildren, teachers and parents! And especially first graders!

Today, all of us together with you are opening a new page in life – some of you go to school for the first time, someone takes their child there for the first time, and some of you first ever sit down at a university bench. 

Today, our special thanks go to teachers who are meeting their pupils and students. After parents and family, they are the ones who help us take our first steps into adulthood.

And only having grown up and matured, we realize that years of studies give us much more than just a diploma or certificate. And today many of us, adults, sincerely wish to hear the school bell again and experience this joyful expectation of something new and interesting coming.

During school years, we get the main skill – the ability to learn and cognize. It makes us competitive and successful in modern life. And the common success of our country consists of your future successes.