Many Changes Are Underway in Our Air Defense Operations – Address by the President

• Home
• News
• Speeches

[Link]

I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians!

Today I had a long discussion with military officials - the Commander-in-Chief, the Chief of the General Staff, and the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Many changes are underway in our air defense operations: in some regions, the way teams work is being almost completely reorganized - interceptors, mobile fire groups, and the entire short-range air defense component. But this is only one of the elements of defense that need changes, and the changes are coming. This also concerns oversight of the frontline supplies with drones, weapons, and, most importantly, personnel. People are indeed the key issue: their training and the actual replenishment of brigades. The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, together with the military command, is preparing the necessary decisions - measures that will strengthen Ukraine and solve existing problems. It's too early to share the details publicly. Once the decisions are fully developed, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and our army will present them to the public.

We are preparing for two systemic security events that will take place this week. The first is a defense ministers' format involving countries standing with Ukraine. New support packages for our defense will be announced. The second is the Munich Security Conference, in which Ukraine will take part. It is important that Ukraine's signals are heard by Europe, heard by America, and by all our partners. I am confident they will be. More joint activity in the interest of security is needed. More joint production, more advanced capabilities, and, of course, more coordination. If Europeans act separately, many around the world play against Europe. Unity is needed for all of us in Europe. This is exactly what we are working on.

I want to thank all countries, I want to thank every leader, and every people helping Ukraine's energy system right now - our cities, our communities, and the ongoing recovery efforts after Russian attacks. In some of our regions, restoration work is practically constant - Russian strikes continue, and our people keep bringing back the power and getting the energy systems running again. I want to thank everyone who works for Ukrainians, for bringing light to our people.

Today, three regions faced the most difficult electricity supply situation. These are Kharkiv region, Poltava region, Sumy and the region. There is a specific problem in part of Odesa region - mostly in the south, where many houses rely on electric heating, and winters as cold as these weeks are really rare. Local and regional authorities, along with government officials, have the resources to help people. This must be felt in every community. The capital remains one of the most problematic areas - a significant number of buildings are without heat. And I thank the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, our energy workers, and everyone carrying out the commitments we agreed upon in our coordination calls - making sure that every building left without heat has sufficient access to electricity. This is a matter of principle - I ask local authorities and all services to really monitor this constantly. The same approach must apply in other cities and communities. Unfortunately, in some cases, full reports on problems are missing, and valuable time is lost. Today, we reviewed such situations in Kyiv, Okhtyrka, and Kryvyi Rih. Every community head and all responsible services must pay real attention to what is happening with buildings in communities, grids, and the implementation of mandatory decisions that help people. We are monitoring this at all levels. Responsibility will be personal.

I thank everyone who fights for our state as if for themselves. I thank everyone who stands with Ukraine!

Glory to Ukraine!