Dear Ukrainians!
It’s been a long day today – full of meetings with our military. I’m grateful to all units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and all other branches of Ukraine’s Defense Forces: the Security Service of Ukraine, our intelligence agencies, the National Guard of Ukraine, the National Police, and our border guards. Every single day, we have the results Ukraine needs – exactly the kind defined by our strategic objectives.
We continue responding to Russian strikes on our cities and villages. Just over the past 24 hours, the Russians struck the Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava regions, and Kherson. There was a very cynical attack on Zaporizhzhia. There were also Russian strikes on the Donetsk region and on our Kharkiv region. This kind of Russian brutality and aggression is the root cause of the war. And it is important that Russians feel that this war is real – and that they are the ones who caused it. First, the occupier is suffering very significant losses on our land, which is now under the Russian flag. Russian military logistics in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, and the very presence of the occupiers there, are severely hindered. And this is the right signal to Russia – a signal that Russia will certainly not get away with stealing the land of the Ukrainian people, or of any other nation threatened today by Russian ambitions. Modern technology makes occupation too hard for the occupier – perhaps harder than at any time in history. Ukraine will continue to strengthen our technological base. I thank all the developers and all our manufacturers. This is not the first time Russia has occupied foreign land – the Russian state itself is built on many subjugated peoples and stolen territories. We are fighting for our land. We are fighting for our people. We are fighting for justice for Ukraine. I believe our people in the temporarily occupied territories understand everything clearly – in the south of our country, in Crimea, in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. We do not allow Russia to use our land as a tool for prolonging the war or turning occupation into something endless. Our operation, including the one concerning Crimea, is carefully calculated, and the way the operation is unfolding fully proves: if Ukraine receives exactly what we discussed with our partners within the G7 – and this depends on the partners’ decision – we will promptly create the conditions that will force Russia to choose peace. We very much count on a positive response from our partners – they know exactly what is meant. Right now, our military is taking out targets that sustain Russia’s war effort both in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and on Russia’s own territory – the very things that make this war and Russian aggression possible in the first place.
Today, there was a briefing from the Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, including on the results of our long-range and medium-range sanctions. Intelligence has obtained some internal Russian documents with a real assessment of what is happening. And this is the occupier’s own assessment – our pressure campaign is being felt painfully by the Russian leadership. We are reaching ammunition depots – near St. Petersburg, a significant number of Baltic Fleet munitions have been destroyed, with similar strikes carried out in other directions as well. We are reaching military production facilities – including the production of critical components for missiles in Voronezh – the very missiles the Russians use to strike our cities and villages, our energy system, and our lives. Or another target – a successfully hit target – was the plant in Cheboksary, which was struck by Flamingo missiles. We are reaching deeper into Russian military logistics. We also have confirmed hits on gas facilities in the Orenburg region – more than 1,200 kilometers from the front line. There were also multiple strikes on oil facilities across Russian territory. Communication centers of the Russian army have also been hit – centers that are strategically important for them and are used both in strikes against Ukraine and in Russian threats against the world. I instructed our intelligence and our army to act in advance against the facilities the Russians use to scale up the war. The Russian leadership is now pulling more air defense assets to Moscow, Valdai, and Putin’s bridge across the Kerch Strait – at the expense of air defense elsewhere. In the Moscow region alone, they have amassed hundreds of launchers for S-400, S-500, and Pantsir systems. Nearly 90 launchers have been redeployed to Valdai from other regions of Russia, and a special air defense division is also being formed there to safeguard the peace and quiet of the Russian chief. To compare, there are only a couple of launchers per direction across Russia and around their other cities. Those are their priorities. They are protecting their power – the source of this war.
More than 60 Russian regions are already experiencing fuel shortages. There has also been a sharp increase in gas and diesel prices – if they are available at all. Russian security services have even proposed postponing or cancelling altogether the ritual of electing “United Russia” to the State Duma. Their latest imitation of elections was scheduled for September, and intelligence reports now show that Russia itself is not confident about what will be happening by September. There are many difficulties – all because Putin refuses to end his war and to hear our proposals for a meeting, genuine negotiations, and a dignified peace. Peace must be guaranteed – this is the most important task.
Today, there was a briefing from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular on our active operations on the front line. I thank the Airborne Assault Forces – all units, as well as the 100th Separate Mechanized Brigade. I approved our future operations. We also discussed with the team the continued preparation of Drone Deals with our partners, as well as the implementation of already reached agreements. Drone production volumes must increase.
Ukraine has never wanted this war. Everyone knows that. From the very first day of the war, we have wanted peace, we have wanted justice for Ukraine, and we have wanted guaranteed security. The Russian leadership knows that a dignified peace is possible. They know that occupation cannot be legitimized. They know that the longer the war continues, the harder it becomes to deal with its consequences. Russia must choose peace. The tools to achieve this exist. I thank everyone who helps. I thank every member of our Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine who are fighting for our state, who are working for its defense, and ensuring precision.
Glory to Ukraine!