Fellow Ukrainians!
The main points of the day. The anniversary of Operation “Spiderweb” – our operation that changed a lot. Ukraine proved that Ukrainian long-range sanctions matter, and since then our ability to bring the war back to Russia has only been growing. And this is fair – in response to everything Russia is doing. On this very day one year ago, “Spiderweb” moved into implementation – the final stage after long and careful preparation. Forty-one Russian aircraft were hit – their strategic aviation. The very aircraft they use to strike Ukraine. Today, I presented state awards to the people who worked directly to make “Spiderweb” happen. I cannot publicly say any details about these people, and this must remain classified for a long time. A special operation, a special secrecy regime. But on behalf of all Ukrainians, I thanked them. “Spiderweb” caused Russia’s largest and most unexpected loss in this war. It proved that our asymmetric operations, our long-range capabilities, and Ukrainian creativity truly work to defend the state. Our warriors now have the capability to reach Russian military logistics across virtually the entire depth of the temporarily occupied territory. There are practically no safe roads left for the occupier in the south and east of our state. This is further proof that there will be no calm times for the occupier on our land. This is also reflected in shortages – above all, fuel shortages in Crimea and in our other regions under occupation. The plan of our long-range sanctions is being implemented step by step. Between January and May this year, our warriors struck 15 Russian oil refineries. This is significant. Russia has already imposed bans on exports of aviation fuel and gasoline from their territory, and is also considering a ban on diesel exports. For a country that until very recently was called a gas station, losing even this is a major event – a major loss. As of May, nearly 40% of Russia’s primary oil refining capacity is offline.
Today, there was a detailed report by Oleh Luhovskyi – the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine – on the enemy’s economic situation. Russia will crash into this wall of a real crisis because of its own foolishness. We have long been saying that the Russians must end their war – Ukraine has proposed every format for real negotiations, every format for ensuring security, and the format of a dignified peace. The only person from whom a decision is needed is the Russian leader who is not even receiving the full statistics on what is actually happening. We will make reality even more obvious. I thank our partners for their steps on sanctions and pressure. There has been another interception of a Russian tanker – thank you, France. It is important that Europe takes a strong step and modernizes its legislation so that such tankers can not only be stopped, but also seized. The oil Russia is so eager to use to finance its war should instead be used to finance protection against aggression. It's doable. We also have information that Russia is looking for ways to get around the economic blockade – through Japanese companies, through some European companies, and also, unfortunately, American ones. Central Asia also occupies quite a lot of attention in Russia’s calculations. We know how to counter this.
I held a Staff meeting today. There was a report on frontline operations – I thank every brigade for the truly strong defense of their positions. The Kupyansk sector, the Donetsk region, Zaporizhzhia, and our other southern sectors. Now the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the General Staff, and the team of the President’s Office must all look at how to further strengthen the programs that are already working to reinforce the brigades. Direct funding for combat brigades, the fair distribution of personnel, and conducting basic general military training within brigades – each of these elements has worked well, and we need to look at the resources available to strengthen all this further. We discussed the air defense situation in detail – the systems, the missiles for air defense that are available, and the agreements with partners whose implementation we are awaiting. The key issue is anti-ballistic defense. The Ministry of Defense and Ukrainian diplomats must be as active as possible. We need results from every country that can help us.
The intelligence warnings regarding Russian strikes remain in effect. A massive strike may happen – they have prepared it. Our defenders of the sky are ready 24/7, to the extent possible with the supplies currently available.
And one more thing. There is movement toward exchanges. We are working to ensure that another stage takes place in the near future. We have also agreed with our partners in Europe on additional communication – there will be meetings, and there will be results. I thank everyone who is fighting and working for Ukraine! And please pay attention to air raid alerts. This is very important. Be sure to use shelters.
Glory to Ukraine!