I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!
A brief summary of today. We continue communication with our partners – for common positions, strong positions. I spoke with President Erdoğan. It was a good conversation – as always, with very well-placed emphases. I am grateful for the support of our independence, our territorial integrity, and our people. And most importantly – for supporting the position that peace can only be lasting with Ukraine’s participation in preparing the relevant decisions. I would also like to note Türkiye’s participation in our Coalition of the Willing – this is important, and we count on Türkiye’s active involvement in bringing real peace and real security closer.
I also spoke with the President of Romania and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. There is a principled stance from European leaders – a clear statement by the European Union, 26 countries, all with us – in diplomatic work and in principled positions. It is clear who the twenty-seventh is, always against everything, just to be uniquely “against.” Still, we are in contact with everyone, presenting our arguments to all. Tomorrow, we will continue our work with the United States and with our European colleagues. Today, I also spoke with the Amir of Qatar – I thanked him for his help in securing the release of our children who had been abducted by Russia. Those are extraordinary mediation efforts – hundreds of children have been brought back. I informed him about all our conversations with partners and about possible next steps.
Today, I also held a meeting with our diplomatic team – the Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are preparing certain steps to further mobilize our partners. I want to specifically highlight our agreements with the Netherlands – one of the leaders in supporting Ukraine in Europe – and we are preparing additional measures that will strengthen us. In particular, this concerns drones.
Today, our military delivered reports about the frontline – especially Dobropillia, Pokrovsk direction. Steps have been taken there to correct the situation, and I am grateful to every unit and every one of our warriors who are now destroying the occupier. Positions in the Kharkiv region, positions in Zaporizhzhia, positions in the Sumy region – everywhere we are doing our best to provide Ukraine with exactly the kind of defense it needs.
And one more thing. There was a meeting with government officials – the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Education. I instructed them to take several steps that could support our people – to support and give young Ukrainians genuinely greater opportunities to be here, to stay in Ukraine, to study here, and to build their future here – despite everything. We will increase scholarships starting from the new budget year. We will also simplify the admission requirements for Ukrainian higher education institutions, with government officials working in particular on the winter admission campaign. In addition, we will change the border-crossing rules so that this will be possible for young men aged 18–22. The aim is for more people to study here and for young Ukrainians who, for various reasons, are abroad to find it easier to maintain their ties with Ukraine. I thank everyone who stands with us, who stands with our state! I thank each and every one who fights for Ukraine, who works for Ukraine – for the state and the people. And I thank everyone who helps us.
Glory to Ukraine!