Fellow Ukrainians!
Today, our emergency workers and repair crews were working throughout the day in Lozova, Kharkiv region, following Russian “shahed” drone strikes. More than two dozen “shaheds” deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure. This is a specific tactic of terror – Russian terror. They launch several dozen “shaheds” at a single city, a single community of ours. In Lozova, two people were killed – my condolences to their families and loved ones. Another thirteen people were injured, including two children. All are receiving the necessary assistance. Railway infrastructure was also damaged. Ukrainian railway workers are true heroes – they have already restored traffic through Lozova. It is important that our people always restore the foundations of life. The world knows this, speaks highly of Ukrainians, and helps our country because Ukrainians do so much to protect life.
Today, I spoke with President Trump. The primary focus was on ending the war. He is very well informed – he knows about the Russian strikes and the situation on the frontline. He is aware that the Russians are now trying to make their attacks more intense. We in Ukraine fully support the American proposal for an immediate ceasefire. We’ve already tried many different formats – ways to stop the fighting, to stop the killing. We have spoken and offered Russia silence in the skies, an end to missile and drone strikes against civilian infrastructure in general, and specifically, a halt to attacks on the energy sector. All of this was violated by Russia. And in a very cynical way. Even when they weren't using “shaheds,” they were simply firing at energy equipment and transformers. Not a single day has gone by without their terror against civilians. Not a single day have they given us real, complete silence on the frontline. And the root cause of this war is simply Russia’s desire to control the lives of its neighbors, to subjugate them, to kill them. If not for that, there would be no war. It is extremely important that Moscow is beginning to feel the pressure of the world, the pressure from the United States, the threat of tougher sanctions for continuing the war. And one of the key sanctions tracks is indeed Russian oil. For Russia to move toward peace, it must run out of money for the war. We are working toward this, and I am grateful to everyone around the world who supports us.
Today, we discussed our bilateral relations with the U.S. President – we are offering a good agreement on drones and will work with our U.S. team on the details of the agreements. I would also like to thank the United States and our partners in Europe – in NATO – for enabling a new supply of weapons under a special initiative. Yesterday, the Netherlands announced a decision to allocate €500 million. Today, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark have decided to provide a total of $500 million. These funds will be used to purchase U.S. weapons – including Patriot missiles. Thank you! I especially want to acknowledge the efforts of Mark Rutte in making this work. By the way, I spoke with Mark today and thanked him personally.
I also spoke today with the Prime Minister of Croatia. I congratulated him on Victory Day, which honors Croatian defenders, the defenders of independence. Ukraine is grateful to Croatia for its principled support of our struggle for our independence. We discussed the situation on the frontline and our diplomatic opportunities. I thank Croatia for joining the SAFE instrument – Security Action for Europe – a special program in the European Union that pools funds for weapons, and our country will receive defense support under this program. There are 18 participating countries, and we are in dialogue with all of them. Ukraine is also fully ready to participate in the program, especially since our weapons are among the most effective.
I also spoke today with the Prime Minister of Greece. I thanked him for his support. We discussed what we can do together to protect lives and strengthen diplomacy. I am grateful to Greece and to the Prime Minister for their willingness to take part in the reconstruction of Odesa and in the development of our transport corridors – not only in Ukraine, but in our part of Europe as a whole.
And a few more important points.
I held a meeting of the Staff – focused entirely on what our military told me yesterday in the Kharkiv region. We had a very concrete conversation with them. Today, I raised all the issues with the military command, the General Staff, and Ukraine’s Minister of Defense. We will definitely increase funding for brigades for direct drone procurement. By Monday, there must be a clear procedure in place for how brigades will also be able to directly purchase pickup trucks – specifically the ones they need. The “Contract 18–24” will be expanded – we are currently working out the details. I also gave instructions to implement what we discussed with the warriors – issues of training and communication within the army between higher command and the brigades. We agreed to establish regular communication, including with battalions, and we will try to do this in such a way as to really know what the needs are. Pavlo Palisa is working on this together with the General Staff and the commanders. Another fundamental issue we discussed is state awards. Unfortunately, it often happens that the awards are delayed for months – even after I’ve signed the decree and all formalities have been completed, the actual presentation still doesn’t take place. There is far too much bureaucracy – at every stage, from nomination to awarding. We will be working to shorten this process.
I also want to highlight our International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children abducted by Russia, and the work of our initiative, Bring Kids Back UA. Today, a statement was issued by the Coalition countries – 38 states, the Council of Europe, and the European Union. An absolutely clear support, an absolutely firm demand for peace and the restoration of justice. All Ukrainian children – and all our prisoners of war and civilian hostages – must be brought back home to Ukraine. And everything else that is necessary for peace, starting with an end to the killing. This must be done – and it is Russia that must do it. Russia must stop this war – the war it started and the war it continues to prolong. Ukraine will undoubtedly defend its independence.
Glory to Ukraine!