I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians!
First – the Air Force of the Armed Forces. There will be personnel changes, for now, within certain regions and units, specifically in areas related to defense against Russian “shaheds.” The short-range air defense component – focused on countering attack drones – must operate far more effectively and prevent the problems we are currently facing. In some sectors, defensive lines are better established; in others, work still needs to be done – and done thoroughly. It’s important that the Minister of Defense is directly handling this matter, the Commander of the Air Force has received additional instructions, and that there is sufficient strength within our Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine, sufficient experience that can and must be scaled up. Everything that truly works in any particular area or at any particular level should be applied wherever results are still insufficient. And every day counts. All decisions must be implemented as swiftly as possible.
The same approach applies to energy. We cannot afford weeks or months for repairs and equipment supply. And many, many processes are being actively accelerated. I want to thank all repair crews, every worker in the utility services, who are truly helping. I also want to thank the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and all energy companies – there is a great deal of truly heroic work. I thank the regional and local authorities – those that are genuinely effective. Often, preliminary repair reports for several weeks turn out to be inaccurate, and work can be accelerated. On every coordination call, this is a major part of the discussion – timelines, acceleration, sourcing, and supplying additional equipment.
Everyone in Ukraine is ready to help, and everyone is really helping Kyiv – including numerous communities, a lot of them, and state companies, all now directing their resources. The situation in the capital still remains very difficult. Over 1,100 buildings are without heating. People in these buildings must be given additional support.
It is also generally important to fully digitize everything related to the existing problems, current issues, people’s needs, and the means and methods of the assistance they receive. The more this digitization is implemented, the less time will be spent verifying reports.
A few more things. I have scheduled a meeting for tomorrow with our delegation: the team is returning to Ukraine today, late in the evening, and tomorrow, they will report on the sensitive aspects of the negotiations in Abu Dhabi that cannot be discussed over the phone. We are preparing for the next meetings – trilateral ones. Tomorrow, we will also speak with our European partners.
At the same time, our parliamentary diplomacy is working in the United States – the Chairman of the Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk. Before his trip, we discussed priorities with him. This includes support for our state, our people, and our negotiations as well. Ruslan has already met with Speaker Johnson, members of Congress, and many of our friends – friends of Ukraine in America; the Ukrainian Prayer Breakfast was held. I want to thank everyone for their support, and thank you, Ruslan, for productive parliamentary diplomacy. All of our state’s resources, all of them, must now be directed at one thing: supporting Ukraine, supporting Ukrainians, supporting our defense, our resilience, and our independence. Supporting Ukraine is bringing us closer to the conditions when this war will become pointless for Russia. We will definitely endure.
Glory to Ukraine!