I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians!
A brief update on today. I held a Staff meeting on matters related to the front, ensuring Ukraine's active operations and our defense. I thank every Ukrainian warrior who is truly securing strong positions for Ukraine. Our positions at the front, our defense production, our ability to thwart Russian plans – these are our strengths in relations with key partners, and our diplomacy is what gives our partners more faith in Ukraine. At the Staff meeting, relevant instructions were issued to both the Minister of Defense and the military command. Today, I also spoke with Rustem Umerov regarding his communications with the American side. We continue to engage with the United States practically on a daily basis. For now, because of the situation with Iran, the necessary signals for a trilateral meeting haven't come yet. But as soon as the security situation and the broader political context allow us to resume the trilateral diplomatic work, it will be done. Ukraine is ready for it.
I am grateful to the intelligence services, the Office, and all involved agencies for the steps taken to make further prisoner exchanges possible. We are working to bring all our people home from Russian captivity. We hope for good news. In recent days, we have been communicating very actively with representatives of countries in the Middle East and the Gulf region – and it is clear what their main request to Ukraine is. Everyone facing attacks from Iran confronts an extraordinary challenge: “shaheds,” which are difficult to shoot down without the proper expertise and adequate weaponry. In just a few days of active strikes, Iranians launched more than 800 missiles and over 1,400 drones against neighboring countries. Attacks from Iran continue constantly. Although the intensity of missile strikes from Iran has partially decreased now, a new threat has emerged – the Iranian regime's intent to block the Strait of Hormuz. This is a globally significant route for transporting oil and gas. This very threat has destabilized energy prices across many markets. We recently discussed this with Ursula von der Leyen. It is crucial to protect people’s lives. It is crucial to restore stability and prevent the war from expanding. The Iranian regime must not benefit in any way, and even more importantly, must not destroy lives – neither there, in the region, nor globally – and this affects us as well. And this is our shared interest: to help people defend themselves and also to assist in rapidly restoring stability in critically important supply chains. Partners are turning to us, to Ukraine, for help with protection against “shaheds” – for expertise and for practical support. Requests on this matter have also come from the American side. In recent days, I have spoken with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait. Further talks with other regional leaders are planned. We are coordinating with our European partners as well. Of course, any assistance we provide is only on the condition that it does not weaken our own defense in Ukraine and that it serves as an investment in our diplomatic capabilities: we help protect against war those who help us – Ukraine – bring the war to a dignified conclusion. We work for peace and for real security. I want to thank everyone who is helping us.
Glory to Ukraine!