I wish you health!
Today, I made personnel changes in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Together with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, we decided that Andriy Hnatov will be the new Chief of the General Staff. He is a battle-hardened man, and his key tasks will be maximizing combat experience of our brigades in operational planning, both defensive and offensive, as well as accelerating the development of the corps system. Everything our brigades have learned in this war must be fully implemented at the planning level. General Barhylevych has been reassigned from the position of Chief of the General Staff to the Main Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defense.
Today, the Commander-in-Chief also provided a report on the battlefield situation. Fighting and our defensive operations continue along almost the entire front line, including many key locations – from the Kharkiv region and the Kupyansk sector to the southern directions.
After the talks in Jeddah and the American proposal for a ceasefire on the frontline, Russia stole almost another week – a week of war that only Russia wants. We will do everything to further intensify diplomacy. We will do everything to make diplomacy effective. But every day now is about defending our independence, our state, and our people. We must remember – it is the support of our army, all our defense and security forces, and our state that determines everything.
I thank each and every one who does not forget that Ukraine’s defense and resilience are paramount. I am grateful to all Ukrainian soldiers, every one of our units. I thank everyone who works for our defense and for our state. I thank all Ukrainians for every fundraiser for our Ukrainian army. We must remember – as long as the occupier is on our land, and as long as air raid sirens sound, we must defend Ukraine.
Based on the results of the week, I want to give special recognition to the warriors of the 59th Separate Assault Brigade of the Unmanned Systems Forces – thank you! Also, the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade – fighting in the Pokrovsk sector – well done! The 425th Separate Assault Regiment – thank you for your bravery in liberating positions from the occupiers. The 100th and 24th Separate Mechanized Brigades – thank you for effectively destroying Russian equipment and soldiers in the Toretsk and Kramatorsk sectors.
I just spoke with Canada's Prime Minister, Mark Carney. I thanked him for supporting Ukraine, our sovereignty, and territorial integrity, as well as for Canada’s participation in our joint efforts with partners to protect our people, bring peace closer, and guarantee lasting security. We discussed sanctions against Russia – particularly targeting Russia’s tanker fleet, its banks, and the revenue-generating schemes of the Russian state. With Prime Minister Carney, we discussed the outcomes of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting, as well as its final document, which is quite strong. I would like to thank all our partners in the G7. Canada will continue to support Ukraine, and this is important. It is important that almost every day, Ukraine receives new signals of support: new defense packages, proposals for joint diplomatic efforts, and partners' willingness to be more active.
Just now, Defense Minister Umerov reported to me on the fulfillment of tasks related to air defense – missiles for IRIS-T, NASAMS, and SAMP/T. There are good results in securing artillery contracts – additional shells will be provided for our army. The Defense Minister also provided an update on the organization of the next "Ramstein" meeting – we are preparing for Brussels. We are also working on a concrete security guarantees system for Ukraine: this week, a meeting of military representatives took place in France, and a meeting in the UK is being prepared. The first steps toward security guarantees are being taken. I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine!
Glory to Ukraine!
