Vice-President of the Riigikogu Hanno Pevkur visited Ukraine

From Sunday to Wednesday, First Vice-President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Hanno Pevkur was on a working visit to Ukraine, in the regions of Zhytomyr and Kyiv, where he visited cities destroyed by Russia’s attacks, including the site of Bucha massacre. In Kyiv, Pevkur met with the members of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) and the Government of Ukraine

“What I saw and heard during three days in Zhytomyr, Borodianka, Malyn, Bucha, Irpin and Kyiv is extremely harsh. There are simply no words and the mind refuses to take it all in. For example, 70% of the city of Irpin is damaged and 50% unusable,” Pevkur said. He added that it was especially shocking to see the ruins of a dwelling house around which no military objects could be seen up to the horizon. “In it, four people, two of whom were children, lost their lives in a moment as a result of a missile attack. And opposite that house, there is a rye field, where cornflowers are in bloom, and poppies, which in Estonia and Ukraine commemorate victims of war.”

At the meetings with the heads of state, reconstruction of Ukraine was also discussed, besides the situation of war. Pevkur assured that Estonia would help Ukraine restore the destroyed infrastructure, and emphasised that the Ukrainians are more united than ever before and would fight for their homeland until final victory. “It is our duty to support them in this and to help them to rebuild their country,” the Vice-President of the Riigikogu said.

In Ukraine, Pevkur was received by First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniyenko and Chairman of Ukraine-Estonia parliamentary friendship group Arsenii Pushkarenko as well as other members of the Verkhovna Rada. Pevkur also met with Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov and Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov, and also the Deputy Minister of the Interior and the leaders of Zhytomyr and Kyiv Oblasts.

Photo: First Vice-President of the Riigikogu Hanno Pevkur at the meeting with First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniyenko and members of the Verkhovna Rada.

Source: Parliament of Estonia