I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians!
Another exchange took place today, the fourth one already this week. It is very important: we are bringing our guys back home from Russian captivity. And this time, we’ve managed to return, in particular, our Ukrainian officers – officers of the Armed Forces and the Border Guard Service. Of course, there are also privates and sergeants in today’s exchange. Many of them had been held in captivity since 2022. These are defenders of Mariupol, of Azovstal, and our guys from other areas of combat. They are already home – already in Ukraine. All of them are receiving the necessary assistance after injuries, after the brutal hardships of captivity in Russia. There are indeed very severe cases among them.
We are working to bring back all our other people currently held in Russian captivity. We are planning for more exchanges to continue next week, at least, that is the current agreement. We hope the Russian side fulfills its part of these humanitarian commitments and will do so exactly as agreed.
Today, I spoke with Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, about the exchanges and the continuation of this work. I assigned very concrete tasks. We also discussed in detail possible next diplomatic steps and what exactly needs to be secured for the negotiation process to move forward.
There was a report from the Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, on the frontline and our active operations. Particular and very serious attention was given to the Pokrovsk direction and to our Sumy region – especially its border areas. We are managing to push Russian forces out of those areas. For this, I thank all our units who are truly delivering results.
Based on the outcomes of these days, our deepest gratitude is due to the warriors of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment – specifically for their offensive actions in the border areas of the Sumy region and, in particular, for the liberation of Andriivka. Thank you very much, guys! I will also commend today the 425th Separate Assault Regiment – for their successful actions in our Pokrovsk direction. Also, the 1st Separate Assault Regiment and the 82nd Separate Air Assault Brigade proved themselves in combat in the Donetsk region – thank you very much! In the Kupyansk direction, there are good results from the 3rd Assault Brigade – thank you!
As for the Kursk operation, we continue our active operations on enemy territory. And we have cause to acknowledge the 33rd Separate Assault Regiment, the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, and the 103rd Separate Territorial Defense Brigade – thank you for your bravery!
Today, I had a separate discussion with the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and the Chief of the General Staff regarding the protection of our skies. Russian attack drones still pose a daily threat. And we need much more effective responses – technological responses. We need to make much better use of the time for developing the air defense system. In particular, this applies to interceptor drones, including the required quantity of such drones, the training of our operators, and coordination among the relevant units. There must be more protection in the skies. I thank everyone who is helping Ukraine! I thank all our people – indeed, every one of them!
Glory to Ukraine!
