I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!
Today, we have introduced a new sanctions package zeroing in on Russia’s activities in the Arctic. This is one of Russia’s cash cows: A significant portion of the resources the enemy sells each year are extracted precisely from the lands and waters of the Arctic – tens of billions of dollars annually. We are working with partners so that, just as measures have been implemented against the tanker fleet and Russia’s oil companies, similar actions will be taken by them against all the volumes of resources the Russians sell from the Arctic. This is fair. Any means of curbing Russia’s revenues is an effective way to counter the war. We have also synchronized the 19th package of European Union sanctions – as I promised – within our jurisdiction. It is important that other European countries outside the EU – in particular Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom – do the same. Partners hear us and take our proposals into account. Overall, our coordination in sanctions efforts is pretty good, so we will continue to expand pressure on Russia for this war. I have also instructed the preparation of new decisions by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council targeting Russia’s weapons production, its sanctions evasion schemes, Russian propaganda, and individuals holding Ukrainian citizenship – collaborators who have chosen Russia and profit from it during the war. The activities of such individuals must be blocked.
We are also very actively preparing the Staff meeting and several other formats today with the military, the Minister of Defense, and the Office team following this week’s trip to the Donetsk and Dnipro regions. There were issues raised by the brigades regarding decisions that, unfortunately, are not fully effective. There was also feedback from battalion commanders regarding weapons supplies and support programs. We will increase funding for the brigades and corps on the front line that are engaged in the fiercest fighting. Government officials must also expand the military’s ability to purchase necessary equipment, hardware, and components. There are many questions, in particular about write-offs and decommissioning of assets. We must resolve all of these issues. We also discussed in detail the new contract-based framework of service in our army – all of this is being worked through, and there must be clear details for our warriors.
It’s also important to recognize our units and warriors who are doing truly innovative work both in combat and in rescuing the wounded. I am grateful to all our genuinely committed people who are doing absolutely everything possible to defend Ukrainian positions, destroy the invader, and save our wounded. In recent days, the servicemen of our 1st Separate Medical Battalion have distinguished themselves exceptionally well. They carry out evacuations of the wounded in the east of our country. The servicemen conducted what was, in fact, a unique operation to rescue a wounded warrior – using a ground robotic system. There had been six unsuccessful evacuation attempts and extremely heavy Russian fire, but the seventh attempt succeeded – this ground drone of ours did help. The wounded warrior is now undergoing treatment and rehabilitation. His life has been saved. Thank you for that! Today I signed a decree awarding the participants in the operation with state honors. We will scale up exactly this kind of technological backbone for our army – more ground robotic systems operating at the front, more drones of all types, and increased deliveries of modern solutions that help achieve results in combat, in providing supplies for our combat units, and in evacuating our wounded warriors.
And one more thing. We are preparing agreements with European partners on our new capabilities in defense and active operations. In the coming weeks – in November – we are to finalize them. There will be new support packages for Ukraine, and additionally an important agreement for our military capabilities.
Glory to Ukraine!