Dear Ukrainians!
It is important that we remain alert today as well, to every threat and every air raid warning. Intelligence indicating the possibility of a massive strike remains valid. We know that partners have spoken with the Russians about this. There is no belief that anyone in Moscow will come to their senses. Make sure you stay safe – act on any threats.
Our air defense, our mobile fire groups, and our combat aviation are ready as fully as possible, given current supplies. The interception rate of “shaheds” by our warriors remains consistently above 90% – it’s 90–93%. As for cruise and ballistic missiles, we are working with all partners to secure new contributions to the PURL initiative and are exploring other ways to obtain missiles. I thank everyone who is helping!
Today, I will commend our Ukrainian units carrying out our long-range sanctions and mid-strike missions: they’ve achieved good results. Our plan for these sanctions is moving forward – in response to Russian strikes.
I thank all our warriors who make such Russian targets reachable – above all, military and fuel logistics across the temporarily occupied territory along the coast of our Azov Sea. Our drones are already reaching deeper and deeper into this part of the temporarily occupied territory. This is already reflected in fuel shortages in Crimea.
The Unmanned Systems units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine deserve recognition for their deep-strike operations. Russian Tu-142 aircraft were successfully struck, along with an Iskander system. There were hits on oil facilities as well. The Armed Forces of Ukraine – in the Rostov region. The Security Service of Ukraine – in Krasnodar Krai. This is what truly impacts Russia’s capacity for aggression. And Russia could have ended this war with peace long ago, but instead it itself chooses to prolong and expand it.
It is now threatening other nearby countries as well – and far more openly than before. Every neighbor of Russia heard what was said about Armenia, whose people are the only ones who have the right to decide and will choose the future of their country. And what Russia says about Armenia is, in truth, not about Armenia alone. We all need to think more seriously about security and take more joint steps – so that political partnerships work, so that modern defense production and modern protection capabilities are in place, and so that economic ties are as broad and diversified as possible. So that no one depends on Russia or places the tools in its hands to blackmail nations.
We very much hope that Europe’s positions on these matters – and those of the European Union above all – will be principled, will be strong, and will be timely. No one can be left without support – Europe has no right to lose any of its peoples, to leave any country behind. Armenia must be supported. Moldova must be supported. The Baltic states. Azerbaijan must be supported. We must find ways to support the people of Georgia as well – and this is a shared European task. No one can be lost. And I am grateful to everyone in Europe who supports us, supports Ukraine – who does it sufficiently and with exactly those decisions, exactly those steps that can truly help us.
Today, I held a meeting: Budanov, Umerov, and Shmyhal. We are working to invigorate all channels of communication with the United States. We expect visits and negotiations. We are in constant contact on this at the team level. We need to continue prisoner exchanges. At the beginning of May, with U.S. mediation specifically, we agreed on a 1,000-for-1,000 format. All this must be implemented. New talks will also take place in Europe; we are actively preparing for them right now.
I also want to separately thank Azerbaijan for its very tangible energy support for our country. We are also working with Azerbaijan in the security field – so that our Ukrainian security experience and our warriors' expertise can help our friends.
Glory to Ukraine!