"I want to thank all our defenders of the sky: their result is a result for the entire country." Address by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation, speaking about the geography of cooperation for the sake of an air shield to protect the country.
Photo from president.gov.ua
"Wishing health to all Ukrainians!
Here are some conclusions from today.
First, I want to thank all our defenders of the sky who are on combat rotation day and night. So far tonight, we managed to shoot down 16 "shaheds."
Thank you to all pilots and engineers of Ukraine's Air Force, to all our anti-aircraft soldiers and mobile artillery group fighters. Every time they have a result, it is a result for the whole country. It is salvation for our people, for our cities, for Ukrainian infrastructure.
Of course, I also thank everyone around the world who helps us.
The geography of our cooperation to create an air shield for Ukraine is very broad. Not everything can be shared publicly now. But what is absolutely certain is that Ukraine is constantly becoming stronger. The capabilities of our Air Force will increase.
Of course, this is not 100% protection yet. There is a lot of work ahead. Cities like Kharkiv and regions like Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia need more systems and more security. This task is for all our diplomats and the entire country.
I thank everyone who is effective in this.
Secondly, today is Radio, Television, and Communications Day. A special day that brings together creative professions and a lot of technical and organizational work. It unites those on camera and off-camera, those on air and behind the scenes.
I congratulate all workers in this field on this day and sincerely thank them for ensuring Ukraine is never without information even during full-scale war. And communication was always restored, even when occupiers disrupted it.
Under shelling and in de-occupied areas, in every city and community, there are those who work to inform Ukrainians, to provide our people with connectivity, so that the world knows and understands Ukraine and what we strive for.
Today I had several meetings with media representatives. Met online with journalists, editors, producers — in general, with workers of channels that ensure the operation of the "United News" information marathon. This is a very important element of our resilience and unity.
I thanked them for their work, energy, and efforts aimed at public awareness and protection from Russian disinformation. I also met — in person, offline — with journalists working for leading foreign media outlets, information agencies, English-language Ukrainian publications, and radio stations. This was a long and very productive, interesting conversation. I am grateful for every question, most of them were not simple. Some things discussed by the journalists today will definitely be implemented. First of all, this concerns media access to the front — the possibility of illuminating more frontline events. But also, of course, all other topics that came up will receive follow-up in corresponding decisions.
One more thing.
Ukraine was visited by the new Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, David Cameron. This is his first working visit to Ukraine in this position. I am grateful for the attention to our country and people and for sending a signal to the world.
A signal that helping Ukraine means contributing to global stability.
We talked about the front, weapons for our soldiers, some very important and sensitive issues of international relations. A good meeting.
Recently, an important parliamentary-level international event took place — the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization. The summit in Ukraine. I am grateful to Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk for organizing the summit. I addressed its participants and believe that we all should pay more attention to what Ukraine has achieved in the Black Sea.
Our country fundamentally changed the situation in the Black Sea — Russia lost control. And generally, it lost hope of keeping the Black Sea as a platform for aggression against other nations. We will do everything to strengthen this result.
Glory to all who fight and work for Ukraine and our independence! I thank everyone who helps!
Glory to Ukraine!"
Read also
General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: operational information regarding the Russian invasion (as of 6:00 17.11.2023)
Euro 2025 (U-21): today Ukraine's youth national team plays a qualifier against Luxembourg (live broadcast starts at 8:00 PM on the UAF YouTube channel)
Vadim Kostyuchenko: "Assistance in the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers is our honorable duty"