Dear Ukrainians!
A few points for today. First, we are preparing very thoroughly for the new round of talks in Europe. Today, I held a meeting with our military and the Minister of Defense. As for drones – our domestic production will be ramped up. Today, we discussed everything related to orders, contracts, and the full capacity of our production. I will talk with our partners about new investments in Ukraine – in our weapons. The priority is drones, interceptor drones and long-range strike drones. And of course, the front – everything our warriors on the front lines need, everything that truly holds back Russian assaults. I am grateful to all Ukrainian drone manufacturers – every developer, everyone who is currently working hard to actively advance interceptor drones. This is extremely important. Russia is investing in its unmanned capabilities, Russia is planning to increase the number of drones used in strikes against our state. We are preparing our countermeasures.
We will also continue working with partners on sanctions. This is very important. Putin has already stolen practically half a year from diplomacy – another half a year – on top of the entire duration of this war. Pressure is essential. Work on new sanctions is ongoing. I thank everyone in the United States, everyone in Europe, and in the G7 countries who are preparing new sanctions measures. There will also be decisions on synchronizing all sanctions – Ukrainian sanctions in other jurisdictions and partner sanctions in the decisions of the National Security and Defense Council. A proper pace is needed, and today, specific tasks were defined regarding the sanctions agenda.
I held a meeting with the Minister of Energy and the head of Naftogaz to discuss our preparations for the upcoming heating season – electricity generation and gas-related issues. We must ensure that Ukraine has everything it needs. And this, by the way, concerns not only securing the resources – the energy itself – but also the work of all our energy professionals, the many men and women in the sector. Hundreds of thousands of our people do everything they can every day to ensure that Ukraine can keep going – and that there are no blackouts. We have already endured three winters of full-scale war. This is an enormous effort to preserve the resilience of the entire country. I thank all of you for whom this is truly a personal achievement, a personal accomplishment. And one more thing.
Today, I met with the German Foreign Minister and representatives of German defense companies. We deeply appreciate all the assistance Germany has provided – especially in the area of air defense and in supporting our country’s budgetary stability. Germany is among the global leaders. It is important that we are establishing production here in Ukraine – our joint production of advanced weaponry. One of the goals is to launch systematic production of air defense systems, and this is a strategic objective. We are now also hearing a truly strong political position from Germany regarding NATO membership for Ukraine. Together with nearly all Alliance member states, Germany views Ukraine’s path to NATO as irreversible. One way or another, we will all have to ensure security in Europe through a strong and truly effective security architecture – one that will provide Europe with reliable protection under any scenario. Russia is not changing its plans and is not looking for a way out of this war. On the contrary, they are preparing for new operations, including on the territory of European countries. That’s their principle, the Russians look for where to exploit a weakness. And they must see that there is the wherewithal to stop them everywhere. Therefore, more of our joint production, more resilience, more coordination and efficiency of our common security architecture in Europe.
Thank you to everyone who is helping! Thank you to every one of our warriors, and to all who are truly strengthening our state.
Glory to Ukraine!