Dear Ukrainians!
Today, hundreds of people – in Kyiv, in Dnipro, and in other cities – worked in the aftermath of Russia’s massive strike: putting out fires, helping the wounded, pulling people from under the rubble. First responders of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, police officers, municipal workers, and emergency teams – I am grateful to everyone who is helping to save lives after Russian attacks. It was a brutal strike – more than 70 missiles, including many ballistic ones, and more than 650 drones overnight. And during the day, the Russians continued their attacks with nearly 100 drones. Unfortunately, the current level of supplies for our air defense does not allow us to intercept a significant share of missiles. There were hits. 130 people were injured. Tragically, 22 people were killed, including two children. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones.
Once again, Putin and his madness have “claimed victory” over the lives of ordinary children, residential buildings, and a clinic in Kyiv. “Shaheds” targeted high-rise buildings in Dnipro and, for some reason, also a car dealership with Chinese-made cars in Kyiv. A Zircon missile struck seven buildings at once. “Shaheds” also hit residential buildings in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and the Poltava region. There were strikes in the Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kherson regions. “Shaheds” struck the Khmelnytskyi region as well. Every single one of these drones, all types of Russian missiles, cannot be produced at all without components imported from other countries. This means that in every such strike there is – perhaps not always conscious, but still real – complicity of those who work for Russia, who supply Russia with money, who help it bypass sanctions and find not just one or two, but thousands of components without which Russian military production would simply come to a halt. Five Kalibr missiles contain 145 such components. Thirty-three Iskander missiles contain 1,122 components. Six hundred and fifty strike drones of various types contain more than 17,000 components, without which they could not be produced. These are large-scale schemes designed to bypass sanctions. And this is absolutely real complicity in the killings.
Today, there was a briefing from the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, including on Russian missile production facilities. We are preparing our additional counteraction measures. We know that the Russians are extremely afraid of our Ukrainian missile capabilities. Ukrainian companies that are showing progress in the development and production of all types of our missiles are being marked by Russia as among its key targets in every sense of the word. We will respond. It is important that our partners also act, and act strongly enough. We need to create problems for Russia so that it finds it harder to destroy others’ lives. We are currently actively working on the 21st sanctions package in the European Union, and we expect that our Ukrainian proposals for sanctions will be effective. We need more tools to prevent sanctions circumvention. This should be included in the 21st package – everything that will restrict Russia’s military production. I am grateful to everyone who is helping with this. I am also grateful to every leader, to all our partners who today did not remain silent and condemned this Russian strike. We know from intelligence that another large-scale strike may come as soon as tonight. Please, I ask you very much to pay attention to air-raid alerts. All our partners together, and everyone in Europe, should continue working to ensure missiles for our air defense, as well as the systems, critical intelligence, and other things that help to save lives. It is crystal clear that Europe needs its own antiballistic system with sufficient volumes and strength to guarantee protection against any threat. There will be negotiations, and there will be meetings that will bring this result closer. Today I approved the relevant diplomatic schedule for June – it will be an active month.
Glory to Ukraine!