RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT "VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY'S SOCIAL MEDIA" HANDOUT — EDITORIAL USE ONLY

SHOTLIST:

KYIV, UKRAINE (NOV. 28, 2025) (VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY'S SOCIAL MEDIA — RESTRICTED)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY SAYING:

"Only now, after several days, I have already held almost 20 conversations with our partners, and every one of them says the same thing: they are impressed by how Ukraine is holding on under the existing pressure. By how Ukraine continues to fight in its pursuit of peace for its people—and in truth, for everyone in Europe, at least in Europe. Today I spoke with the President of Finland. Alex informed me about what has been coming from Russia, both formally and informally, and about the conditions Russia is putting forward. We are now preparing for a meeting with the American side—about the steps necessary to ensure that peace truly becomes possible, and that it is a dignified peace. And when all attention is focused on diplomacy and on defense in wartime, inner strength is needed. Inner strength is the foundation of our external unity and our relations with the world.

And for this inner strength to exist, there must be no reason to be distracted by anything other than the defense of Ukraine. I want there to be no doubts or questions regarding Ukraine. That is why today there are several domestic decisions.

First — The Office of the President of Ukraine will undergo a reset. The Head of the Office, Andriy Yermak, has submitted his resignation. I am grateful to Andriy because Ukraine’s negotiation stance was always represented by him exactly as it should be. It was always a patriotic position. But I want to prevent any rumors or speculation. As for the new head of the Office, tomorrow I will hold consultations with those who may take on this role.

Talks will be held soon, and Ukraine will have its representatives—the Chief of the General Staff, representatives of the Foreign Ministry, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and our intelligence service. And when we all face such an external challenge—the war—we must remain strong internally. One hundred percent of our strength must be focused on defending Ukraine. Everyone must act now in the interests of our state and protect our state. This is an unchanging principle. A meeting with the American side will take place in the near future.

Second — The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. I expect that Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, together with members of parliament, will ensure three things for Ukraine through dialogue and unity. Most importantly, they must adopt the budget for 2026—so that our state can defend itself, maintain defense capacity, provide all social payments, and ensure necessary resilience. This is what people need. I also expect nominations for the ministers of energy and justice. The current ministers must be evaluated in a way that allows us to draw completely clear conclusions about whether they are capable of meeting the challenges of this winter and this war.

Third — I spoke with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and requested that they conduct an analysis of the situation within law enforcement agencies and across the regions. Soon, there will be reports, my conclusions, and corresponding decisions. There is too much negativity coming from the regions. We agreed that the SBU will provide me with information quickly.

And of course, the army. Our warriors are heroes. Our warriors destroy the enemy, and this is the foundation of our ability to conduct diplomacy. There are issues that should have been resolved long ago. The Commander-in-Chief, the General Staff, and Pavlo Palisa are already working on these issues, and next week I am preparing the corresponding Staff meeting. First of all, to ensure a fair, rational distribution of personnel among the brigades. The principles for how to achieve this already exist, and every combat brigade speaks about it. The decision will be made.

I thank everyone who stands with Ukraine! I thank each person who defends Ukraine now and always. I thank everyone working to ensure that pressure is placed on Russia—the cause of this war—and not on our state or our people, not on Ukrainians. Ukrainians must win. That is the most important thing. Russia wants Ukraine to make mistakes. We will not make mistakes on our side. Our work continues. Our struggle continues. We have no right to ease up, no right to retreat or fall into division. If we lose unity, we risk losing everything: ourselves, Ukraine, our future. We must gather ourselves. We must hold on. We have no other choice. There will be no other Ukraine. We defend Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine!" KYIV, UKRAINE — NOV. 28, 2025 — RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT "VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY'S SOCIAL MEDIA" HANDOUT — EDITORIAL USE ONLY — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, Nov. 28, said that he is initiating a full overhaul of the Office of the President, confirming that his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, has submitted his resignation as Kyiv prepares for a new phase of negotiations with the US.

In his evening address, Zelenskyy said he recently held nearly 20 conversations with international partners, all of whom expressed strong support for Ukraine’s resilience under sustained pressure.

He emphasized the need for internal strength and unity at a moment when diplomatic activity is accelerating, saying the presidential office will undergo a complete reset.

He confirmed Yermak’s resignation and said consultations on a successor will begin Saturday.

Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine’s delegation for the coming talks will include the commander-in-chief, representatives from the Foreign Ministry, the National Security and Defense Council, and intelligence services.

He stressed that all internal efforts must now be focused entirely on defending Ukraine and supporting its diplomatic push.

The upcoming round of contacts with Washington follows recent US-Ukrainian discussions in Geneva over a 28-point draft peace proposal.

US President Donald Trump said this week that “something good” may be emerging in the negotiations, though he cautioned that progress should be judged only by tangible results.