Clearly, Russia Is Trying to Inflict Pain on Ukraine with Even More Brazen Attacks – Address by the President

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Fellow Ukrainians!

Right now, in our cities - Kyiv, Sumy, and other cities and communities - assistance is being provided to the wounded after the Russian strike. The geography of the attacks over the past day includes Kyiv, Sumy, Kremenchuk, Odesa, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, and Zaporizhzhia. In Kyiv, the rubble is still being cleared - there may still be bodies beneath it. The Cabinet of Ministers building has been damaged. As of now, more than forty people have been reported injured across the country, 20 of them in Kyiv. My condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed. In the capital alone, the air raid alert lasted for more than seven and a half hours. Kyiv was one of the main targets for Russian drones. Right now, another air raid alert is spreading across Ukraine - and it is precisely because of "shaheds."

In just one night, there were more than four hundred "shaheds," with a total of 810 drones in that strike. Hence, nearly half were drones the Russians use to complicate the situation in the skies and overload air defenses. There were also missiles, including ballistic ones. Our warriors managed to shoot down a significant number of them, which is a significant achievement. There are also results from interceptor drones, with more than 150 interceptions overnight. Electronic warfare units, army aviation, mobile fire groups, Air Force fighter jets, and anti-aircraft units also performed well. I thank everyone. Of course, not everything is being shot down yet, and we still need to further strengthen our air defenses. This is a top priority. The Russians keep the number of "shaheds" in massive strikes at the level of 300-400 per strike, and our interceptors must reach a matching level. This is realistic - production capacity is there, financing and contracts are secured, and what is needed now is to scale up the relevant units. I thank everyone in the Defense Forces who is carrying out this mission, and I thank everyone who is helping - every volunteer, every company. Developing this interceptor technology, deploying it, training crews - all of this saves lives.

It is important that today we saw a broad response from our partners to this strike. Clearly, Russia is trying to inflict pain on Ukraine with even more brazen attacks. This is a clear sign that Putin is testing the world - whether they will accept or tolerate this. That is why it is important that the statements of leaders, states, and institutions be backed by strong actions - sanctions against Russia, against individuals associated with Russia, tough tariffs and other restrictions on trade with Russia. Their losses must be felt. That is what is truly convincing. And also - our long-range capabilities. Putin does not want negotiations, he is clearly hiding from them, so Russia's fuel shortages and other economic troubles are the logical response to its refusal to agree to a ceasefire or a meeting at the leaders' level.

This week there will be a meeting in the Ramstein format. Today, together with Ukraine's Minister of Defense Denys Shmyhal, we discussed preparations and priorities for the Ramstein talks. We expect new support packages. Rustem Umerov delivered a report today - we are preparing a Staff meeting in the coming days focused specifically on the technological aspects of our defense and our long-range capabilities.

I spoke with President of France Emmanuel Macron. I thanked Emmanuel for his support and for coordinating our steps to put pressure on Russia, and so that Europeans together can do more to bring this war to an end. We also spoke with Mark Rutte today. There have already been many reactions from leaders, heads of government, and heads of international organizations - we thank everyone. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is informing all partners about this latest Russian escalation. We are counting on a strong reaction from America. This is what is needed.

And one more thing.

Today is the Day of Ukraine's Military Intelligence. I thank you, guys, for your strength and for all your successful operations. I especially want to thank you for the operation in the Black Sea that opened maritime export corridors for Ukraine. Thank you for the vital information. Respect to our intelligence officers. And we always remember the fallen heroes.

Glory to Ukraine!