The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, opened his speech at the special meeting of the European Council by reporting on the Russian attack on Chernihiv: 17 people were killed, and more than 60 wounded.
“The beginning of this day reflects our current key need — the need for air defense. Here in Ukraine, in our part of Europe, unfortunately, we do not have the level of defense that we all saw in the Middle East a few days ago. We are still convincing that we need to protect Europe from ballistic missiles and "Shaheds", from cruise missiles and bombs, as it happened in the skies of Israel and other countries in the region. Our Ukrainian sky and the sky of our neighbors deserve the same security. And I thank everyone who also perceives our need for security as a need for equal security for all, because all lives are equally valuable,” the Head of the State said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Russia had destroyed almost all of Ukraine's thermal power generation. Russian occupiers are hitting dams, equipment of hydroelectric power plants, and gas infrastructure. The aggressor state of the Russian Federation is not giving up on radiation blackmail. Ukraine does not rule-out that threat is not limited to the infrastructure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“This can only be stopped by air defense – by specific systems such as Patriot, IRIS-T, SAMP-T, NASAMS. Systems that you have. They are needed in Ukraine right now – needed to stop Putin from relying on terrorist methods. And this is your security need as well”, – the President emphasized.
The Head of State thanked all the countries participating in the meeting for their initiatives and involvement in the coalitions to support Ukraine, and our Defense and Security Forces. He urged to accelerate the implementation of the agreements and to engage in communication with American partners so that the U.S. Congress could make a relevant decision on the support package.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that sanctions against the aggressor state of the Russian Federation should be strengthened, and all its income should be limited.
"We all now need to overplay Putin in our determination – so that this war begins to finally move towards a fair end," the President concluded.