The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting in Kyiv with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides. This is the first visit of the Cypriot Head of State since the beginning of the Russia’s full-scale invasion and the first in the last ten years.

“We see today’s visit both as a sign of support for Ukraine and as a signal of our shared readiness to continue working together – for the benefit of both our states and all of Europe,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.

The President informed about the situation in Ukraine, in particular on the frontline, the priorities and the work of the Ukrainian team in the negotiation process with partners.

Nikos Christodoulides praised the resilience of the Ukrainian people against Russia's criminal invasion. He stressed that a peace agreement must be based on UN principles and full respect for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The leaders paid special attention to Ukraine's European integration. Kyiv expects that during the Cypriot presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2026, historic decisions will be made - in particular, the opening of new negotiation clusters for Ukraine.

“Ukraine has given Europe a significant unifying momentum, and this energy works to strengthen Europe. We also expect the European community to stand with Ukraine as needed to achieve peace and guarantee reliable security,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.

Presidents also discussed strengthening sanctions pressure on Russia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the new, already prepared EU sanctions package from the EU must deliver a tangible blow to Russia’s energy sector and other sources of funding for the war.

Ukraine also counts on Cyprus’s support for joint European decisions regarding Russian assets.

“Russia must pay for the war it started itself and continues. The funds needed for defense and recovery after Russian strikes should absolutely rightly come from the amounts the aggressor has left itself in the hands of the free world,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.

Moreover, the President of Ukraine thanked Cyprus for yesterday’s vote in favor of the UN General Assembly resolution on Ukrainian children abducted by Russia and expressed hope for further humanitarian cooperation.