Dear Ukrainians!
This morning, the Russians struck a passenger minibus in Kherson with a drone – yet another atrocity that the occupiers commit every day. It was absolutely clear that this was an ordinary minibus, civilian transport. But the Russians struck it anyway. In the second half of the day, the Russians struck Zhytomyr – deliberately, callously – targeting the police administration building.
All day – yet another day of war – there were strikes on the Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Donetsk, and Dnipro regions. Tragically, people have been killed. In Kherson alone, and in that one strike on the minibus alone, four people lost their lives. In the strike on Zhytomyr, nearly 30 people were injured, and two were killed. Sadly, there are casualties in other regions as well. My condolences to all the families and loved ones of those whose lives were taken by Russian terror.
My main task for the Minister of Defense of Ukraine – under these conditions – is to put our defense system, our production and procurement system, and our supply system to the troops on a truly effective footing, so that those defending life in Ukraine have everything they need to repel Russian attacks, hold our positions on the front, carry out our active operations and deliver strikes that Russia will feel in response to its terror – to this war, to these killings, which Putin has effectively turned into a new Russian ideology. We have to uproot this ideology of war.
Yevhenii Khmara proved through his service with the Alpha Special Operations Center that he does not speak lightly and knows full well that occupiers are not defeated with empty promises. I expect the Ministry of Defense to expand the operational scope of our deep-strike capabilities, work with Ukrainian weapons manufacturers to provide greater opportunities to defend Ukrainian airspace, and, together with our partners, expand the capabilities of our defensive and offensive operations. There is already good coordination between Khmara and Drapatyi – thank you for that. And ahead of winter, we in Ukraine must be confident – and we will be confident – in our defense, in our positions, as much as possible.
I am grateful to the members of parliament for their strong support today for Khmara’s appointment as Minister of Defense, and for their support for Andrii Sybiha as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Our diplomacy also has absolutely clear tasks – this concerns communication with our partners that must give Ukraine more strength even amid the political turbulence that Europe may enter with the start of the new political season. We need consistency in support, stability in our relations with our partners, and therefore a modern approach in the work of the diplomatic corps: modern diplomatic tools, modern ways to address issues, and very concrete results.
I am also grateful today for passing the law that we discussed in detail and that must expand support programs for one of the most vulnerable parts of our society – families with children with disabilities. A law that guarantees increased support and also introduces a multilevel system of social services for children funded by the state. I expect the law to be sent to me for signing as soon as possible, and I expect the Government to fully account for this in the budget.
And one more thing. I signed a decree awarding the title of Hero of Ukraine to Junior Lieutenant Vladyslav Polskyi, for his quick and courageous response in a combat situation and for saving the lives of our warriors. This undoubtedly heroic event took place on August 15 – Vladyslav used a pickup truck to rescue two guys from an area within range of Russian drones. Our warriors were carrying out a combat mission and were wounded. The evacuation was underway using an unmanned ground vehicle. The Russians struck that UGV. And so to avoid losing people’s lives and wasting time, Vladyslav decided to act and picked up the guys in a pickup truck. An outstanding story. Great courage. And an example of a commander’s action worth following. People must be taken care of. Thank you, Vladyslav!
And today, there was an exchange – we brought another 103 people back from Russian captivity. Our warriors. And this is not easy, but we continue working to ensure the exchanges. We are preparing the next stage of exchanges.
I thank all our warriors, every man and woman who defends Ukraine, who defends our people! It is important that we all work together for Ukraine, for our people. And we are preparing serious sanctions for tomorrow.
Glory to Ukraine!