Thank you very much, dear Emmanuel!
First of all, thank you, dear Mr. President, for your warm words and for your support. You have been with Ukraine from the very beginning. I am deeply grateful to you, and Ukraine – the Ukrainian people – all respect France, the French people, and you personally. Thank you once again for all the support your state, your people, and you personally have demonstrated since the start of this war and on a daily basis, no matter what. Thank you!
Distinguished attendees, dear journalists, ladies and gentlemen,
Dear France,
I am grateful to the President that France stands with Ukraine. Ukraine is not alone now, not on its own in its defense, and that is precisely why we can count on bringing this war to an end – because we have friends, and France is our friend – on bringing it to an end with dignity. Putin has been waging war against Ukrainians for many years already: years of hybrid warfare, years of full-scale war. Russia has vast resources and does not count its own human losses at all, launches constant strikes, but we are doing everything to ensure we have protection. France stands with us, as does all of free Europe. The United States helps us, along with other countries around the world – from Canada to nations in Asia, from Japan to countries in Latin America. We have built one of the largest coalitions for the defense of life ever formed – and I am grateful to Emmanuel, all partners, and such a strong coalition for this. Ukrainians gave this unifying impulse to Europe and to others around the world, and we receive support because of it – unity works. And that is exactly why we are able to shoot down Russian missiles, stop Russian assaults on the front line every day, and restore our energy sector and our infrastructure whenever Russia destroys it – it’s very difficult for us, extremely challenging, but we restore all this. And most importantly – we give other nations hope that Russia will not succeed in making war, deportation, and the abuse of people the new norm. Ukraine is not alone in its defense, not on its own, not isolated. And France knows very well what this means for us, and how important it is that such words were once spoken to France – on June 18, 1940, by General de Gaulle – and that it worked. Defenders of life must never be left alone, and I thank you, Emmanuel, that France’s support is always effective, fully practical, and truly gives us strength and hope.
Today, our meeting adds precisely such elements to our defense – effective, practical, and strong. Agreements have been prepared, and important documents are being signed today to significantly strengthen our defense capabilities. First, Ukraine will be able to receive one hundred Rafale F4 aircraft, very powerful French radars, and eight SAMP/T air defense systems with six launchers each – and for someone this may be a technical detail, but for us it is essential: every launcher is protection for every life; this is extremely important – as well as the missiles and guided bombs necessary for our defense. I would like to emphasize the importance of this agreement – it is a strategic agreement that will be in effect for 10 years starting next year. We understand all the foundations of this agreement – political, financial, industrial. This is a historic agreement. It is of great value that France is taking such a step toward achieving real, guaranteed security in Europe. Second, today together with the President of France, we met with representatives of defense companies – we are very grateful – and we had time to discuss some specific details of technological cooperation. But the main thing is that we outlined the direction: we will jointly increase the industrial and technological potential of Ukraine and France. And this is not only strength in defense – this is literally strength in life, because it means jobs for our people, development for enterprises, development for communities. And third, we are strengthening our logistics, our transport sector in Ukraine, and today we have another very important agreement – the purchase of 55 new electric locomotives from France. This is a deal between our Ukrainian Railways – congratulations to all – and the French company Alstom. And we are committed to carrying on with this line of cooperation with France. Today we are embarking on an important and meaningful security path, and I am absolutely confident that we will achieve the results we need. Thank you, Emmanuel! Thank you, France! And I thank you for the new defense package being prepared for the end of this year. This also strengthens Ukraine. And of course, today we will speak in detail about how we can once again activate diplomacy – the negotiation process, the process of pressure – to create the conditions necessary for a dignified peace for Ukraine and Europe. There are now several important things, important ideas, proposals that we must discuss with Emmanuel. I am confident that Ukraine must be strong, must be peaceful. And it will be so when we have such strong friends as France. Thank you, Emmanuel, for this invitation and for the results of this visit.
Glory to Ukraine!
