Glory to Ukraine!
Dear friends!
Today, we are all here for the sake of actions that can have the most serious impact on the aggressor state. Each of you has seen just how much evidence there is that Russia is critically dependent on its ties to the world. Without those ties, this war simply would not have been possible.
Russian missiles, drones, nearly all the equipment on the battlefield that is actually effective, Russian finances, their tech companies and communications – all of this depends on how Russia trades with the world, how Russia sells oil and other goods, and imports technologies, equipment, and components. Russian weapons production directly depends on access to modern machine tools. Russian missiles and drones are made up of dozens of critical components that they import – import from other countries through various schemes. The Russian budget is critically dependent on oil and gas revenues. The Russian economy and Russian oligarchs cannot function properly without financial ties to global jurisdictions. And no less important are the personal assets of Putin’s so-called “elite” – all those murderers and their accomplices. They love money. They love their life of luxury. They hoard stolen wealth, want a good education for their children – particularly in Europe – and need proper healthcare. The longer Russia wages war, the less of the “proper” remains in Russia. It is precisely the so-called “Putin’s elite” that understands this very well – and desperately wants the West not only to avoid introducing new sanctions, but also to ease all the existing ones. That is why our common task is clear: as long as Russia invests in this war, the entire world must remain as closed to them as possible. This is about security – ours and yours – and about basic human justice. And it is exactly what we must ensure through sanctions regimes – both ours and those of our partners.
Unfortunately, today, even Western countries continue to supply Russia with equipment and critical components. Our experts have already identified hundreds of types of various components found in Russian drones and in Russian missiles. Unfortunately, just over the past year, deliveries of machine tools to military-industrial facilities in Russia have been recorded from at least 12 countries – including China and Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Türkiye, and the United States. There is also information about supply contracts already planned for the upcoming year, 2026. All of this must be stopped. Absolutely. Further pressure is also needed on every actor in the world who helps Russia maintain its exports, who helps it transport oil, or find ways to circumvent financial restrictions. We must already be working to ensure that cutting-edge technologies – particularly in the field of artificial intelligence – are prioritized in export control policies by partner states, as AI is increasingly being integrated into weaponry. It is necessary to immediately impose restrictions on the supply to Russia of ready-made artificial intelligence models suitable for military use; also, tools and services for training AI, including cloud-based solutions; high-performance computing equipment, as well as specialized data sets, including commercial satellite imagery. Therefore, our sanctions must be highly specific in each area and as up-to-date as possible. A new international platform for controlling the export of dual-use goods must be established, which should help us not only to defend ourselves directly against Russia, but also indirectly against its accomplices, such as the regimes in Pyongyang and Tehran. I would like to specifically acknowledge the work of everyone involved in limiting Russia’s earnings from energy resources. Thanks to our state institutions, our strong partners, and cooperation with civil society, there have been truly positive results in imposing sanctions against Russia’s shadow tanker fleet. And this effort must be scaled up even further. We must extend sanctions to tanker captains, all related legal entities, and terminals from which Russian oil is shipped. This is an enormous everyday task – from export controls and supply chain restrictions to blocking financial instruments and imposing personal sanctions. But all of it is necessary, because without it, Moscow will not consider peace.
Of course, we are doing our part. Our sanctions packages are very proactive – and I want to thank the entire team that makes this possible. Today, Ukraine is introducing new sanctions against manufacturers and suppliers of components and equipment for the Russian military industry – another 87 entities, most of which are Russian. But we must become even faster and stronger. That is why today the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine has made a clear decision on all sanctions synchronization. This is an absolutely essential process. As of today, there are differences in the speed of sanctions implementation. In some cases, we in Ukraine act more swiftly; in others, our partners move more actively against certain individuals or sectors that deserve strong sanctions.
Today, we are launching an expedited synchronization process. Every necessary decision by our partners regarding sanctions against Russia and related individuals must be swiftly implemented in Ukraine. And our Ukrainian sanctions – against those who have chosen Russia and who have chosen war, against those who assist aggression – must also be confirmed in other jurisdictions. We need to work more actively with companies directly – with key global manufacturers, primarily of equipment and components, with leading developers – to ensure stronger control at the production level over where specifically their products end up. Negligence in control must lead to inclusion in sanctions lists and effective restrictions.
This war must become an ever-growing problem for Russia. Every Russian strike on our cities and communities must trigger new sanctions in response. I’ve had productive meetings in Europe and at the G7 Summit in Canada with our partners – and sanctions were among the key topics of discussion. Our partners are ready to support us, and I want to thank them for that. We expect all our state institutions – starting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Bank, and the National Security and Defense Council – to work more swiftly and deliver results in sync with those of our partners. The task is absolutely clear. The deadlines are absolutely clear. And the outcomes can be clearly measured. We must significantly ramp up sanctions pressure. Thank you to everyone who is helping us! Thank you for today, for organizing everything, and thank you to everyone who is striking back at Russia in response to the war – rightly so.
Glory to Ukraine!
