In Zaporizhzhia, rescue operations continued all day yesterday at the site of a Russian rocket hit. Part of an ordinary residential building was destroyed – floors from the third to the fifth in one of the entrances.
Text of the address of the President of Ukraine:
As of this time (21:06), five people are known to have died. My condolences to family and friends. Another five people are injured, they are being provided with the necessary assistance. I am grateful to everyone who works on the ground and supports people: emergency services, medical workers, our police, communal services.
And I thank all our soldiers, who strike back at the occupier and thereby restore justice to Ukraine. This is the foundation of the existence of our state – to destroy the enemy and thereby protect people. The more successful our soldiers will be, the more forward movement there will be at the front, the more fundamental losses the Russian troops will suffer, the faster we will be able to restore security to all our cities and villages. To every community – from Sumy Oblast to Zaporizhzhia Oblast, from Orichov to every other city of our state.
Today I had important telephone conversations with the Prime Minister of Norway and the President of France. In particular, about what is happening on the battlefield, about the support of our soldiers, about defense cooperation, about the work of “grain corridors” in the Black Sea. This is important not only for our country, but also for the whole world, for global stability. Special attention, of course, to the strengthening of air defense and our long-range capabilities, our strength at sea.
They also discussed with the Prime Minister of Norway the start of work on security guarantees based on the corresponding declaration with the “Big Seven”. With the President of France, they discussed further cooperation at the EU level – and political work to open membership negotiations, and macro-finance for Ukraine. Invited both Norway and France to participate in our summit on food security and the humanitarian initiative “Grain from Ukraine”, which will be held next month.
It is important that our assessments of the situation in the Middle East coincide. I discussed it both with Emmanuel and with Mr. Prime Minister of Norway. It is a matter of principle to prevent any further escalation in the Middle East and to save as many lives as possible. All parties must take care of civilians – women and children who find themselves in the zone of fighting and shelling. It will be one of the worst case scenarios if the number of victims increases again and again. And we must prevent such a scenario.
He held a meeting with the delegation of the Romanian government. A joint meeting of the governments of our states took place today. This is another important step towards the strategic partnership between Ukraine and Romania. Our cooperation, our formats of interaction are a new force for the entire Black Sea region. For security, for economic development, for the construction of new infrastructure. And I am grateful to our Romanian partners for the real meaning of joint work.
I held a meeting with the Minister of Defense of Ukraine – he presented his team, his program. The composition of the ministry has been updated. There are already the first steps to solve the issues that the military talked about. Reduce bureaucracy, simplify document flow, all procedures, free up commanders’ time for combat work instead of paper work. There will be more digitization and clarity in the supply to the troops. There should be more readiness for feedback from the military and overcoming accumulated problems.
LODA