Thank you very much, dear Mr. President!
Dear attendees, our teams, merhaba, the media!
Today we are in Türkiye, and, as always, we had a very productive conversation – a very good, substantive meeting with President Erdoğan. And in Ukraine, we greatly value the trust between us, between our states, between our nations. I thank you for our regular meetings and for Türkiye paying a lot of attention to Ukraine. This is certainly not our first meeting this year. Thank you for that, Mr. President. Ukraine values Türkiye’s principled stance on Russia’s war against our people, against our state. I want to express my gratitude for the cooperation – and it’s real – that helps us protect lives, and also for Türkiye’s clear position on all key aspects of this tragedy and this aggression. Türkiye supports Ukraine’s independence. We appreciate the support for our territorial integrity and sovereignty. Our sovereignty is the daily struggle of Ukrainians – military personnel, civilians, everyone defending the right to life in Ukraine, our right to self-defense.
Tonight, the whole world could once again see what this war brings, what Russia’s aggression brings. Another attack hit our cities, with Russian drones and missiles directly striking residential buildings. In just one of our cities, Ternopil, more than two dozen people were killed by this strike – people who were simply at their own homes, peacefully sleeping. As of now, 25 people have been confirmed killed, including two children. My condolences to the families and loved ones. And thank you, Mr. President, for your condolences. Rescue operations are still ongoing – unfortunately, we know that there may still be people trapped under the rubble, and rescuers are doing their best. There was also an attack on Kharkiv and other cities and communities. In total, today’s Russian strike involved 48 missiles – a very large number – and 476 attack drones. This war is truly bloody. In Ukraine, we are constantly forced to defend ourselves against such strikes. We are seeking and really securing for Ukraine the air defense missiles it needs – this is a challenge, not an easy task, but we are doing everything for it – including the necessary weapons for our sky defenders – necessary equipment and combat aviation. This is truly a challenge and a daily effort. And I want to thank everyone in the world who helps Ukraine defend itself. And I also thank Türkiye for the work we are doing together.
Today, we discussed with the President our further cooperation – joint production projects and coordination for more effective protection of lives. Our teams will work on what was agreed upon today. We are counting on results.
Of course, we also addressed in detail the situation in diplomacy. Many processes are currently intensifying, and we are aiming to channel all activity specifically toward peace, a dignified peace and guaranteed security. The war must end; there is no alternative to peace. Russia must understand that there can be no reward for war and killings, and Russia must not be left with the opportunity to start another similar war – against Ukraine or any other country in the region. We share the same view with Türkiye: peace and security must be guaranteed. We will maintain close coordination and efforts with all partners. And I am grateful for Türkiye’s assistance and, once again, I thank President Erdoğan. We rely on the strength of Turkish diplomacy and its clarity for Moscow.
Türkiye’s active involvement in the Coalition of the Willing – especially in its naval component – is also important. Everyone understands the significance of security in the Black Sea, and such security can only be ensured together with Türkiye.
We are making every effort to restore exchanges – prisoner swaps – to bring Ukrainian military personnel and Ukrainian civilians held by Russia home, including Crimean Tatar political and religious prisoners held by Russia. Of course, we are also working to return our abducted Ukrainian children. We have operational platforms everywhere – including in Türkiye. For this work, all possibilities exist, and we are grateful for this support in bringing our children home.
We hope to restore exchanges and return a significant number of prisoners by the end of the year. Türkiye is helping us greatly in this effort, and we want to personally thank you, Mr. President, for the meeting and for the results achieved in the Turkish direction, for the fact that two and a half thousand of our POWs have already been returned or – with the decision in place – are on their way home. We need to accelerate these processes, and we need to speed up these diplomatic efforts.
Thank you, Mr. President!
