“Regardless of what is happening in the world, everyone wants to be sure that their country is not wiped off the map. It used to depend on a handful of big capitals, but now it depends on all of us – how we work together, how willing we are to take responsibility for our future, and how well we can convince our partners to support us.”, — write: www.president.gov.ua
Thank you very much!
Thank you for your words, strong words about our people and about us.
Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary!
And I am grateful to you for your personal leadership over all these years and your personal involvement, and to the United States for coordinating this format and working with us since the beginning of full-scale war.
Minister Pistorius! I highly appreciate your help and effective support from Germany for all our people, for Ukraine.
Ladies and gentlemen! Dear our friends!
It is clear that a new chapter is starting for Europe and the whole world – in just 11 days – a time when we must cooperate more actively, rely more on each other and achieve even greater results together. And I see this as a time of opportunity.
In almost three years of full-scale war, we have shown that when we come together and act in unity, no one is too small to make a real difference in history. And we’ve come such a long way that it would be crazy to give up and not continue to build the defense coalitions we’ve created, especially since they’re already helping us grow and strengthen what is essentially our common defense force. Regardless of what is happening in the world, everyone wants to be sure that their country is not wiped off the map. It used to depend on a handful of big capitals, but now it depends on all of us – how we work together, how willing we are to take responsibility for our future, and how well we can convince our partners to support us. The more determination we demonstrate in defending our interests, the more our partners, and especially the United States, will be interested in remaining on our side.
Yesterday, I held a special meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. And the focus was on the production and supply of drones for our soldiers, for our army, as well as means of electronic warfare.
Drones are something that has already changed the nature of warfare, and those changes are far from over. Today there is a direct dependence: to stop the advance of the enemy, so as not to lose people and territory, we need drones. Drones deter the enemy – keep him at a distance. It is realistic to do. The production of drones in Ukraine is more profitable than anywhere else. This year, we in Ukraine want to set a record for the number and quality of drones that we produce and receive from our partners. And we’re focusing on drones that our brigades need to hold the front line, and drones that are needed to maintain security, like maritime drones, and drones that are designed to conduct long-range strikes against the enemy’s military facilities and infrastructure on his territory We have already signed a significant number of contracts, and many more are in the pipeline. I encourage all of you to get even more involved in building this drone arsenal. Ukrainians have Europe’s greatest experience in using drones, and we also have Europe’s greatest potential for their production. So, first of all, I ask you to invest more in this Ukrainian force, because after the war it will also become your force. Second, invest in the talented people in your countries who can help strengthen us all in the field of drones.
Further.
We already have bilateral security cooperation with most of the countries represented here. I am grateful to those countries with which we have signed bilateral security agreements – there are currently 27 of them. And the full implementation of these agreements is a real contribution not only to our security in Ukraine, but also to your security.
But there are more of us here in Ramstein. Much more. So let’s join forces and conclude such agreements with all participants. And I am asking my Secretary of Defense to work with the Secretary and all the ministers to increase the number of these documents, of course, if the partners support the idea. And I know that it will strengthen our front line, protect – which is very, very important, especially in winter – protect our energy, not only in Ukraine, but also on your lands. This will strengthen security programs. And now we see all the reports about submarine cables in the Baltic Sea. And we’re all seeing drone incidents in some countries that are deeply troubling. We see destabilization in Africa, which threatens Europe with new waves of migrants. And we’re also learning more and more about how Russian intelligence paid militants in Afghanistan to attack coalition soldiers while your troops were there: Moscow paid to kill your soldiers – American soldiers, NATO soldiers. How can it be forgiven or forgotten?
Russia’s hybrid aggression and sabotage against the entire Western world does not stop, and only by supporting and strengthening our cooperation, strengthening our agreements and coalitions, we will be able to truly protect the normal life of people in all our countries.
I am doing everything in my power to end this war with dignity for Ukraine and all of Europe already this year. And I know I can count on your support. And we should all remember that the end of the war is our common goal – ours, not Russia’s: Ukrainians, Europeans, Americans and many of our global partners want this. Countries as far away as Japan, Saudi Arabia and Argentina also wish us peace. But here’s the thing – Putin doesn’t just continue to invest in aggression, he doubles it. He even began to essentially recruit soldiers from North Korea to continue this war. North Korea is studying modern methods of warfare. They don’t value their people and we know it, they are losing them – 4 thousand so far. But Pyongyang is cheaply gaining experience to re-export the war, perhaps there, to the Indo-Pacific region.
At the same time, this collusion with North Korea shows Putin’s weakness, because no ruler in Moscow would ever stoop to begging Pyongyang unless faced with dire straits. Therefore, we must continue to put pressure on Russia. This is what ensures that our soldiers will receive the weapons they need. This is why sanctions are needed. And I ask all our partners, especially the USA and the EU, to increase the degree of pressure on Russia’s energy sector. Sanctions are needed against every element of Russian energy, and the Russian tanker fleet must be stopped. Russia’s military budget for 2025 exceeds last year’s by 25%. If we want to stop the killings, we have to cut off Putin’s money flow. Putin will start thinking only when his closest circle tells him that he has run out of money.
And one more thing. The key to countering aggression is motivation. And we know it. The motivation to risk your life to save your country. But motivation requires nourishment, and the best nourishment is success – I mean successful actions, successful arrangements. When our forces can shoot down Russian missiles, including ballistic ones, and keep Russian aircraft as far away from Ukraine as possible, it provides the motivation we desperately need. And we have been negotiating with the US about licensing the production of air defense systems and missiles here in Ukraine, and this could become a significant part of our security guarantees. And this is quite a feasible task. But we must remember that the promises from the last NATO summit have not yet been fully fulfilled – we really, really need the air defense systems you have already given us – thank you very much – and we really need the systems you promised us. You saw what happened yesterday in our city of Zaporizhzhia: 13 people died and 112 were injured by Russian bombs. It was just one day, just one attack, one airstrike. We must stop Russian terror. And you can do it. And we ask for the urgent supply of air defense systems.
We also need to ensure that all our arrangements for supply to the front are fulfilled. And I want to thank again every country that helps us with artillery, armored vehicles and everything else that we need. Our men and women on the front lines need to feel that the world has their backs, and nothing demonstrates that better than the confidence that they have what it takes to repel Russian attacks.
Last year, France came up with the idea of deploying partner contingents in Ukraine – and you know this – in order to bring peace closer. And we all understand: today Putin’s goals have not changed. He wants to completely destroy Ukraine and break all of us and you too. Therefore, our goal is to find as many tools as possible to force Russia to make peace. I believe that this placement of partner contingents is one of the best tools. Let’s take a more practical approach to making this possible. And we heard signals also from some of our partners – from the UK – in support of this. And we have to be bold, and we have to offer really strong tools. Take, for example, the Kursk operation – this is one of our victories, I think, one of the biggest victories not only last year, but also during the entire war. Russia had to withdraw almost 60,000 soldiers from the Ukrainian front to oppose it. And this Monday, five months have already passed since our troops have been holding a buffer zone on Russian territory. Many Russian threats and bold statements turned out to be bluffs, especially after the Ukrainians entered the Kursk region. And I am sure that even more of their threats will be bluffed if we all work even harder together to push Russia towards peace.
Thank you for your attention. Thank you, Mr. Secretary! Stay confident.
Glory to Ukraine!
