Wishing good health, dear Ukrainians!
An important day.
Grateful to our soldiers who destroyed three Russian Sukhoi aircraft at once. In the South – in our Kherson region. It's the gain of our Air Force and the direct action of the Odesa Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. Thank you, guys! And may every Russian pilot be well aware of our response to every Russian killer – none of them will go unpunished.
The second for today.
I greeted two of our very significant professional communities today on their professional days – Ukrainian energy workers and Ukrainian diplomats. There are special days in the calendar: December 22 is the Power Engineer's Day and the Diplomatic Service Day of Ukraine.
In the morning, I honored power engineers with state awards – individuals whose efforts enable Ukraine to live normally, with light and heating. We are currently experiencing the second winter of full-scale war, significantly different from the first. It is the result of the tremendous effort of many teams, companies, officials, and regional authorities. I am grateful to everyone working for our energy sector.
Today, I also met with representatives of our diplomatic community – those within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs system and those outside the system involved in our country's foreign policy. This year was ambitious for Ukraine, and we managed to implement most of our ambitions in relations with our partners. For the next year, there are clear goals and well-defined KPIs for all employees in Ukraine's diplomatic sphere.
I spoke today with Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. The Netherlands is preparing to send the first F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. From political decisions regarding the provision of aircraft, we have moved on to training pilots and engineers, and now we are implementing the technical part – the actual delivery of F-16 jets. I am grateful to the Netherlands and all our other partners who support us in this endeavor.
Certainly, we discussed the current political issues with Mark, including the approval of a new support package for Ukraine in the European Union – EUR 50 billion, a necessary and long-term package. This is our resilience. Additionally, we managed to discuss the preparation for a new Peace Formula meeting.
Today, I also met with the recently appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Sikorski. We are refreshing our relations. We discussed how we can overcome existing concerns. Of course, I expressed gratitude to Poland for supporting our state in the defense sector. We have significant opportunities for further collaboration – work that will bolster both our nations. This includes, in particular, joint defense production. Many things need to be resolved. I am confident we can do it.
Another thing. I held a meeting with the Minister of Defense and the team. We are preparing solutions to the issues that our units, combat brigades are facing. Matters of motivation, terms of service determination, and recruitment. The defense forces are sustained by people. And people are the spirit and the weapon. We must ensure both components. Thanks to everyone who is assisting!
Thanks to everyone who is fighting and working for the interests of Ukraine!
Glory to Ukraine!