Thank you so much!
Ladies and gentlemen,
This Monday, on my way to New York, somewhere in the sky over the big and beautiful Atlantic Ocean, I read President Trump’s post on Truth Social. The President wrote that “Russia has lost control of its diesel oil industry due to its war with Ukraine…”
And it is hard to imagine a more humiliating loss for a country that has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and takes so much pride in its oil exports.
I quote: “A large number of their diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission.” End of quote.
And this is true. Russia messed up.
And the conclusion of the post is also right: “…this ridiculous and never-ending war with Ukraine must be ended…”
I do not know a single world leader who would say otherwise. I do not know anyone who is openly for this war…
Except one man.
Ladies and gentlemen,
For almost five years now, Russian generals have been trying to carry out Putin’s crazy order to seize our eastern land – the Donetsk region.
And just this year, from January through August, the Russian army lost 248,964 people on the battlefield in Ukraine. In 8 months. 248 thousand. Killed and badly wounded. Twenty-one countries in the world have smaller populations than the number of Russian troops lost in just these 8 months.
We have video confirmation for every one of these losses. And these are not just statistics. It’s about people. We have an archive of drone videos – videos showing thousands and thousands of Russians losing their lives in kill zones…
It is madness. But they still keep going there to die. Because that is what Putin wants.
After losing so many people, Russia managed to capture just over one thousand square kilometers of our land this year – and we have already liberated a significant part of it.
Russia is a country that already has 17 million square kilometers of its own land – without any Ukrainian territory, by the way. So to add another thousand square kilometers, Putin is paying with 248 people for every kilometer…
Does anyone still think that he is reasonable and moderate?
His comrade, the leader of North Korea, sent his troops to Russia to support the weak points of the Russian army. The North Koreans also suffered losses. Heavy losses.
You probably saw the broadcasts from Pyongyang, when they honored those who were killed.
And this is madness too. Why should Koreans give their lives in a war against Ukraine?
Kim Jong Un uses them like currency. And he gets something in return. And North Korea’s neighbors – and countries across Asia – have probably already noticed its improved ballistic missiles and Pyongyang’s much greater drone capabilities…
So a war that was not prevented in time, was not stopped in time, and for which Russia was not punished in time, keeps spreading – and spreads evil with it.
Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea. These guys are not easy to capture alive. One of them, when he realized he was going to be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself. And he was shocked that fate didn’t let him die.
This is how they raise people in the North. It’s reality. They take away their freedom. They take away their right to choose. And they drill into them that they must die, no matter what.
Do you really want to give such a force more time to learn how to wage war?
This has already been going on for five years.
And we know that Putin recently once again promised representatives from the American President that he would seize our Donetsk region. And he said he needs just a few more months…
This is probably the 17th or 18th time in 5 years that he has made this promise. It is always the same: “Just a few, a few more months”…
And then he moves the deadline again. Putin will fail this time too.
But after that, he will once again make it clear to the world that even our Donetsk region is not enough for him. He wants more of our cities – Odesa and Kharkiv. Dnipro and others… Someone in the Kremlin even put up a picture with the words: “On to Kyiv”…
Russia has claims against our neighbor Moldova. It constantly threatens Poland and the Baltic states…
Russia shows no respect for the statehood of the countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia…
And sadly, sadly, people in Syria and across Africa also know very well what Russian killers are.
Something always seems to stop Putin from simply saying: “That’s it. Enough. Peace.”
Something always stops him from admitting that seventeen million square kilometers of his own territory – internationally recognized by all of you – should be enough for this man.
Putin is always looking for someone who can help him kill more people for every kilometer of land, take more territory, attack another country – instead of simply stopping and running his own country.
After all of this, can you even imagine him without war? He is “patient zero” – the one from whom this idea of war keeps spreading further. And wherever it spreads, it brings only pain, instability, new risks and, of course, new crises. The more freedom Putin has to act – the more dangerous the world becomes for everyone else.
That is why “patient zero” must be stopped. He must be denied the space to act – and the space to spread this evil further.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Last year, speaking here, I said that we are living in a time when weapons decide who survives.
And I’ve said – if a nation wants peace, it must work on strong weapons. Ukraine is doing exactly that.
And this is why, for the first time in Russia’s history, we now hear that its pride – its oil industry – is running of fumes.
But oil itself is not Ukraine’s target, not our target. Not gasoline or diesel. Not factories or ports as such…
Our target is Russia’s ability to finance this war, to drag it out, to make it more brutal and more destructive.
Russia’s finances and Russia’s production are what must be stopped if Putin is to be stopped.
And our great soldiers and our weapons are working for this, only for this. The world’s support for Ukraine helps us do it. And I am grateful to everyone, to every country that stands with us – stands with Ukraine – and helps our people…
Sanctions, support packages, our joint weapons production… All of this matters, of course, matters. All of this makes us stronger.
When someone gives Russia more money through trade, they give this war more time. That is exactly why we insist on limiting trade with the aggressor – and why we are burning Russia’s revenues ourselves.
Many of you here have seen more than once how the abuse of the veto at the UN weakens the world and pushes peace further away. When Russia has money, it always says “no” – “no” to diplomacy. And this is also a kind of veto on peace – not an official right but real…
And when someone in the world weakens sanctions against Russian oligarchs, it may make life more comfortable for rich Russians – but it also gives the war more time, more time for Putin to send poor people into the kill zone. So Russia’s revenues must remain a target.
Russia’s budget deficit is now bigger than in any other year, and most Russian regions are already bankrupt.
Russia planned major operations on the front this summer. All of them failed.
Russia’s bet on cruise missiles and “shaheds” did not work the way Putin planned. They still cause damage, but they didn’t break us. We built our defense.
What is truly difficult for us now is Russian ballistic missiles and their new jet-powered “shaheds,” Iranian technologies…
Just imagine this.
Since the beginning of this year, Russia has already used more than 2,100 missiles of different types against us, against Ukraine, our people, and our children. More than 950 of them were ballistic missiles. In 8 months of this year, Russia used 63,000 attack drones of different types against Ukraine, our people. And more than 7,700 of them were jet-powered “shaheds” – truly destructive and very dangerous weapons.
Just think about it…
The Russians launch jet-powered “shaheds” every hour – every hour – against our cities, our economy, our infrastructure. Our combat aircraft are fighting them 24/7. And this is part of Russia’s strategy – to create an air threat every hour, to make life harder for the economy and to disrupt people’s lives, and to stop children from being able to study, just to study at school…
Would your country survive if, God forbid, you had to face something like this?
Ukraine has.
Our soldiers have already successfully tested 4 new jet-powered interceptor drones against Russian jet-powered “shaheds.”
So we are scaling up production, and we will build, of course, we will build protection against this threat too.
We have also launched an anti-ballistic program, FREYJA, together with our partners.
Ten countries are already part of it: Ukraine, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Last week, I invited Poland to join. And we are also in consultations with a couple of other allied governments who want to join FREYJA. And we remain open to every country that can contribute to building protection against ballistic missiles.
Our FREYJA program does not replace proven and effective systems like, for example, Patriot systems or upgraded anti-ballistic SAMP/T systems.
We want to build a system that can be produced on a much larger scale and at a lower cost – a system that can become an integrated part of Ukraine’s defense and Europe’s defense…
One that can help any freedom-loving nation.
The global waiting list for anti-ballistic systems is very long. There are more and more ballistic threats. And the industrial capacity of those who choose war is very large.
So we need to produce enough protection so that every person sitting in this hall can say: my people are truly protected.
That is our approach to security.
Today, even the richest countries in the world can’t find enough missile interceptors. Current production is simply not enough. And even those who spent years building up interceptor stocks have already used a large part of them.
Unfortunately, this is the reality even in the Gulf, where countries really worked to build a strong anti-ballistic system, anti-ballistic defense.
So we need a new program. We need FREYJA. Join this common effort.
And yes, sometimes it may seem that Ukraine is focused only on war because we speak about weapons, we speak about defense, and sanctions against the aggressor…
But Ukrainians did not choose this war. We chose not to die. Not to lose our country, our families. Not to lose our independence, our freedom.
And we are defending ourselves. And this matters not only for us. I’m sure.
Most of you here are like Ukraine was before this war. You are peaceful nations. And you do not think about war every second. But that does not mean you are weak, and those who may wish you harm should not make that mistake.
Most of you do not have nuclear weapons. You do not have a habit of attacking your neighbors. And you may not have the money to finance years of war. But that does not mean you have no chance to stay safe – to deter those who may threaten you, to make anyone who may threaten you think twice, and to protect your life and, of course, protect your people.
Ukraine has proven that even against a much bigger enemy, you can stand and survive.
And we also have the Drone Deal format. This is not simply about selling drones. Not, of course. It is cooperation with other countries to build a modern, integrated defense system against drone threats – in the air, at sea and on land.
And this is not only about protecting the sky.
Drones help us control our borders – it’s important – mountain areas and, of course, roads – and without them, this would simply be impossible. And it is also about protecting infrastructure, critical infrastructure, about resilience, about organizing resources and Defense Forces so that critical infrastructure and transport can keep working even in the most difficult conditions – this is also part of the Deals we offer.
These are ready-made security formats that we adapt to each specific country and each specific region…
We are already working with partners in the Gulf, the South Caucasus, and across Europe through Drone Deals.
Today, I signed a Drone Deal, a serious Drone Deal, with Finland – and this is significant. Also today, I signed a security agreement with Australia – and drones are part of it too. We are preparing Drone Deals with Canada and with other countries as well.
When Russia started this war, it could never have imagined that Ukrainian long-range drones would one day reach its factories, its military factories somewhere in Siberia and on the Yamal Peninsula – thousands of kilometers from our border. Thousands.
No Russian admiral expected that we would be able to sink Russia’s pride – cruisers that were supposed to dominate the sea but could not survive our naval drones.
And along with different types of drones, we also produce a wide range of conventional weapons – quickly, at lower cost than in many other countries, and tested in modern war.
Ukraine is building its own security so that we reinforce our role of a real provider of security – and help others get the protection that has already worked for us and that can truly reduce the space for starting and spreading wars in the world. Peace through protection.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Just think about it:
No Russian official ever imagined that “Army General Winter,” which had fought on Russia’s side for centuries, would one day switch sides and support those defending themselves from Russia.
We will make that happen this winter if Russia continues to target our energy system and our heating.
Ukrainians understand that this winter could be very harsh for us. But in response, we will have no choice but to make it painful for Russia too.
And that’s exactly why we say that de-escalation steps are important, are needed before winter. Now.
We need diplomacy – and we need strength. And step by step, we are closing the gaps in both.
Yesterday, we met with the President of the United States, and this is exactly what we discussed.
Unfortunately, we have not had a chance to speak directly with the leader of China – who is in America today, but not here. And he is someone who can influence Russia too – more than many, many others can. And we would like him to want peace as much as we do in Ukraine.
We believe the world has the power to make this happen. We are sure the world needs this.
And this is about energy. About critical infrastructure. This is about food security. This is about the lives of many, many people in many countries.
And this is about finally slowing down the rapid development of weapons for killing – a process that has continued throughout this war and has already become a global threat.
We need to slow it down before we reach the next stage.
Because as early as next year, there is already a real possibility that AI – not only people – will begin to decide what happens on the battlefield.
And we need peace before we reach that point.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Russia’s leader, “patient zero,” the man from whom this war began and spread into the world, becoming the largest war in Europe since World War 2 – will inevitably leave this world. But the longer Putin is able to wage war, the more evil he will leave behind in this world.
Today, nothing in war works the same way it did, by the way, in 2022 – except the courage of people. Everything has changed. And who knows whether courage will still work the same way in the future.
If you listen to some of the biggest believers in the development of AI, they say today AI still remains mostly digital, but one day – AI will move from the digital world to “shaping atoms.” And when that happens, we had better be at peace. We certainly need to end the wars that already exist.
Ukraine deserves security. Just as all of you do. Every country. And every nation.
And one more thing.
For weeks now, Europeans have warned that Russia may go further – into Europe, even into NATO territory. Leaders have intelligence showing Russian intentions. And right now I want to speak not to Europe. I want to speak to those countries whose people Russia may try to use in another absolutely brutal campaign.
We have had more than just North Korean POWs…
We know that Russia uses citizens of 47 countries in its war, in this war. Ghana, Nepal, Tajikistan, India, Yemen, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Belarus, Sudan, South Africa, many, many others…
And from time to time, we receive requests to send particular POWs back home.
And through the videos from our drones, we also see people dying on the battlefield who are not Russians. People from your countries – 47 countries – who ended up in Russia through deception and tricks.
So I want to speak directly to every representative of these 47 countries:
You know what Russia is doing with your people, your citizens. Take care of them. And do not let them end up on another front.
Do not let Putin drag you into his war. Do not let Russia put out its fires, cover up its shame, and pay for its madness with the lives of your people. Limit his room to act. Limit his money. Limit his war.
And please, everyone here, do not be the last to join those who defend life. Be the first to say: “We guaranteed security.”
Thank you, everyone who helps. Thank you to everyone who stands with us, with our people, with our children, with Ukraine.
Слава Україні!
