This is what strength looks like – forged in battle, in pain, in fire. This is what protection looks like, and the will for freedom and justice. This is what quality and precision look like, excellence and long-range capability – and this is what independence looks like. The tools to defend it. The arguments to win our peace.
Today is the professional holiday of those who amplify this strength of ours. Amplify every day and every night – by hand and by mind. In the quiet of production halls and workshops – so that it roars for the enemy. Bent over blueprints and calculations –so that Ukrainian retribution is delivered with pinpoint accuracy to its intended target. The invisible heroes of our defense. Yet we see the results of their work every single day – and evil feels them every single day. These are our Ukrainian arms makers – all employees of Ukraine’s defense industrial complex. In four years, Ukraine has built a new defense industry. Large-scale, effective, and in every sense – impressive.
Our missiles, our unmanned systems, our interceptors, attack and naval drones, reconnaissance systems, artillery, our ammunition, armored vehicles, robotic platforms, and much more. All that today is truly proudly called – the weapons of Ukraine. They defend our skies, our cities and villages, save lives, and prove that “Made in Ukraine” is synonymous with effectiveness and strength. For this, I thank everyone working in our defense sector, in our arms industry. The capabilities of Ukraine’s defense industry mean millions of FPV drones per year, our deep strikes, our interceptors, and millions of shells. Ukraine has its own long-range missile weapons. Not just in development, but a real force already at work. Flamingo and Ruta, Peklo and Neptune, Palianytsia and Vilkha – we can already be proud of all of this, but we will not stop here for sure. These are only our first steps – the industry will grow, and the enemy will feel it.
Everyone sees the historic long-range reach of our drones – striking 1,750 kilometers from our border. There will be more. And this is not about records – it is about justice that will find evil anywhere in the world. And our Sichen, Liutyi, Morok, Bars, Obriy, and FP are proof of that.
The future is already on the front line – and Ukraine is building it. These are our ground robotic systems. For the first time in the history of this war, an enemy position was taken exclusively by unmanned platforms – ground systems and drones. The occupiers surrendered, and the operation was carried out without infantry and without losses on our side. Ratel, TerMIT, Ardal, Rys, Zmiy, Protector, Volia, and our other ground robotic systems have already carried out more than 22,000 missions on the front in just three months. In other words, lives were saved more than 22,000 times when a robot went into the most dangerous areas instead of a warrior. This is about high technology protecting the highest value – human life.
Ukraine is not just keeping up with change – Ukraine is among the leaders in the development of security technologies. Our Ukrainian security experience and our military expertise are now the most sought-after products for dozens of countries worldwide. But we are not building new cooperation with partners on weapons the way it was done in the 1990s or early 2000s, when Ukrainian weapons and strength were sold off like a Black Friday sale. We are not making fairs of our weapons, nor are we emptying our stockpiles. We are offering security partnerships – long-term and profitable for Ukraine. Our interceptors are already operating in the Middle East and the Gulf countries. We are building a strong, integrated, multi-component system for protecting the skies. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar have their own air defense against ballistic and other missiles. But with our military expertise, they have solutions to defend against “shaheds”: to detect this threat and respond at scale. Radar coverage, the necessary electronic warfare systems, communication between air defense components, and interception itself – Ukraine is capable of all of this. We are also in communication with Kuwait, Oman, Türkiye, and Syria. Countries in Asia and Africa are interested in our experience as well. Ukraine is a global producer of strength and security – that is already the case, and it will remain so. And none of this is a gift from Ukraine. Long-term security agreements in the Middle East mean funding for our state every year. It is fuel for Ukraine – essential in global instability. It is also the types of weapons that we lack but our partners have. We support those who support us – and we work so that everyone becomes stronger. Already this week, we will have discussions with Europeans – negotiations on creating a joint air defense system. I am confident: either Ukraine becomes an integral part of Europe’s security system, or some in Europe risk becoming part of the “Russian world.”
We also have experience in guaranteeing maritime security – objectively, the most current in the world. No one else has carried out missions like Ukrainians have in the Black Sea. When people talk about security in the Strait of Hormuz, it is often a theoretical discussion. Those who speak about it have not conducted such operations themselves. Ukrainians have. We have fought an enemy fleet, air strikes, and naval mines – we have been through all of it. And if partners offer us cooperation on equal footing, Ukraine can help. Our naval drones, Sea Baby, Magura, and Sargan, are well-known, and this is Ukraine’s export offering too. As is our artillery, which we produce at the largest scale in Europe. As are our shells, which are now growing in numbers. As is our armor – armor, which becomes more effective every year. All of this is delivered by our defense industry – our defense industry professionals, our Ukrainian arms makers.
I thank everyone involved in this. In production halls, design bureaus, laboratories, test ranges, in production and repair – every day working for Ukraine. A strong Ukraine because it can defend itself. Modern, because it is changing the rules of the game. A Ukraine that matters because it can help others, and a Ukraine that is, in many respects, indispensable. All thanks to our experience, expertise, and technology.
At the start of the war, we lacked many things – but we had you. All those who did not stand aside, who found solutions, who launched the first new production lines in hangars and garages – and there is truly nothing shameful about that. The story of Apple and many of the world’s top companies began the same way. What matters is not where you start, but the goal you are moving toward. Our defense and industrial complex has become completely different. New. Strong. We preserve all the traditions of our industry. We work in a modern way. That is why our weapons are effective. That is why they are known and respected around the world. And every new Ukrainian development shortens the distance to peace. Our peace. A lasting one. And a dignified one. Glory to our arms makers, glory to our defense industry! I thank everyone who is helping Ukraine!
Glory to Ukraine!