President holds meeting to discuss preparations for Crimea Platform summit

The head of state said this in his evening video address, Ukrinform reports.

"We are already actively preparing for international events scheduled for August and September. In particular, today I held a large meeting on the preparation of the Crimea Platform Summit at the level of state leaders and parliamentary level," Zelensky said.

He said he was confident that the summit would be meaningful and Crimea would become even closer to returning to the free world, even closer to liberation from occupation.

"All Ukrainian land and all Ukrainian people must be free," Zelensky said.

The third summit of the Crimea Platform is scheduled for August 23 in Kyiv. It should take place in a hybrid format.

According to Ukraine's first deputy foreign minister, Emine Dzhaparova, the participants in the summit will discuss security in the Black Sea and Azov region, the future of Crimea and how Ukraine sees it, and the fact that there can be no peace talks without Crimea.

The hybrid format of the third summit provides an opportunity for leaders from distant countries to join the meeting online.