President of Ukraine

Speeches

Today I had a long discussion with military officials – the Commander-in-Chief, the Chief of the General Staff, and the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Many changes are underway in our air defense operations.

The documents on guarantees are ready. There is no alternative to security. There is no alternative to peace. There is no alternative to rebuilding our country.

And, of course, each of our partners must recognize their strength, their ability to support Ukraine and protect lives. Missiles for air defense are needed every single day. Protection against Russian ballistic attacks is needed every single day.

It is also crucial that Ukrainian diplomats, Ukrainian government officials, and Ukrainian military personnel continue working actively with our partners on what is truly effective – missiles for the Patriots, missiles for the IRIS-Ts, and all other systems we have. All of this is needed practically every day to protect lives.

All decisions must be implemented as swiftly as possible. The same approach applies to energy. We cannot afford weeks or months for repairs and equipment supply. And many, many processes are being actively accelerated.

On Ukraine’s part, we are doing everything to ensure the exchanges, and I thank our partners who are helping and providing the necessary mediation.

We discussed energy cooperation, and there are things that can strengthen both of our countries. In particular, this concerns the development of our energy grids in Ukraine and Poland.

Captives must be brought home. Overall, Ukraine’s position is very clear: the war must be ended for real. Russia must be ready for this.

Those who started the war must take steps toward de-escalation and stopping the war. If this is not happening, and until it happens, every Russian strike hits not just our energy infrastructure, not just our cities and communities in –20 °C, but every strike also targets the leaders negotiating with Russia and receiving only further war in response.

Licenses are needed so that Europe can produce the protection it requires for itself, including missiles for air defense systems that are available in the United States. We began discussing this all with Mark today, and we very much want there to be sufficient quantities for all systems that are actually used in Ukraine, and that Europe and other countries have.