Thank you so much.
Karol,
Dear friends – Gitanas, Edgars, Alar, dear Mette,
I’m glad to see you all.
Today in Ukraine, rescue operations continued all day after a Russian strike. A very brutal attack – in Kyiv alone, 19 people were killed, including 4 children, and many – dozens – wounded. There were nearly 600 drones, 31 missiles, including ballistic ones. Kyiv was hit hardest. Many buildings were destroyed or damaged. That includes the offices of the EU and the British Council in Ukraine, and the Embassy of Azerbaijan. And this, you know, is a very telling strike. This is Putin’s response to the world’s calls to stop the war. Russia refused to stop the killing – they even said “no” to President Trump.
We’re seeing negative signals from Russia regarding a possible leaders’ summit.
Honestly, we think Putin is still interested only in continuing this war. That’s exactly why we need new strong pressure on Russia – tough sanctions, strong tariffs, both from Europe and from America.
Karol, Mr. President, you’ll be in Washington, as you said, and that matters.
It’s important that President Trump sees we in Europe are united in our determination to end the war and ready to work together to bring the war to an end and ensure security. We agreed with President Trump that America will be part of the security guarantees. That’s good, and this is an extremely important decision. President Trump believes that Europeans should take the lead, but America is ready to be involved and help coordinate the process.
Our NSAs actively work – I hope all your countries will join this effort. We need solid and real security guarantees and a shared understanding that Putin deserves more pressure. So, I think it’s important that we send united signals.
If Putin has agreed to a bilateral or trilateral, then we must keep the pressure on – to make it happen. Only at the level of leaders can the war truly be ended.
When we were in Washington, President Trump and I agreed – just a couple more weeks, and it’s time to act. This Monday will be two weeks since our meeting.
Putin has not done what he said. It’s time to move. We need a strong joint signal. And it would really help if that signal also came from you, dear friends.
America is ready to stand with Europe – they underlined it – in providing security guarantees, so Europe must not miss this opportunity – it should define real foundations for joint action.
We all agree that the Ukrainian army will be the foundation of future security. This includes long-term funding for the Ukrainian military, arms deliveries, and weapons production.
So our lines of cooperation must remain active, and that includes the Danish model – thank you, Mette, again – and all the ways you’re involved in weapons production in Ukraine. And I’m truly grateful to the Baltic States. Our joint logistics effort with Poland also plays a critical role.
And when we talk about security guarantees, we need clear answers – who will help us defend on the ground, in the air, and at sea if Russia comes again. And how exactly you can take part – I’m asking you to define your role.
In the end, the U.S. and President Trump will also expect this from you – that every country in Europe clearly defines its contribution. And, of course, I ask you to think about it.
And I think that next week, we can have some details. The NSAs will prepare the basic infrastructure for security guarantees. It's difficult, because our military guys, today they had a meeting again online. I think that without meeting at the level of leaders, we will not have it. To my mind, what I see, I hear a lot each day. Then I've had meetings with some chiefs of armies, Admiral Radakin came from the UK, etc. And really, I think that next week we can put on the table the basic infrastructure and then see the role for every country that is in the Coalition of the Willing. It's not about three countries or five countries, you know them, E3, E5, etc. It's about our 30 countries. We need all the countries on our side.
Thank you!