Today is Children's Day in Ukraine, but on this day, the terrorist state took the life of a Ukrainian child. Russia shelled our cities - from Kharkiv to Kherson, from Kyiv to Donbas. Ukraine used this day to the maximum to bring the terrorists' defeat closer. And this day has become a time when we are bringing Russia's responsibility - every murderer, every terrorist – closer, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening address.
"We are doing our best to protect people. There has never been an international meeting, there have never been international negotiations where the issue of air defence for Ukraine was not raised," Zelenskyy said.
He stressed that protecting people means protection at all levels.
"Shelters must be accessible. The situation like last night in Kyiv, when people came to the shelter and it was closed, should never happen again. It is the duty of local authorities, a very specific duty, to ensure that shelters are available and accessible around the clock. It is painful to see the negligence of this duty. It is painful to see the losses," he said.
The president emphasised that if the duty is not fulfilled, law enforcement officers should hold local authorities accountable.
"This morning, our Ukrainian delegation has been in Moldova at the summit of the European Political Community. This is the centre of political discussions on our continent. We had very important talks. The President of Moldova and the President of France, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the President of the European Commission, the President of Romania and the Prime Minister of Portugal, the Prime Minister of Albania and the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, the Prime Minister of Italy, the Prime Minister of Spain, the President of Switzerland, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, the President of Azerbaijan, the Chancellor of Germany," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The format was also expanded to include representatives of the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Britain, Poland, and Belgium.
"We are preparing new defence solutions for Ukraine - this concerns air defence, aviation and our advance on the ground. We are preparing real political content for the NATO summit in Vilnius. We are preparing a package of security guarantees for our country on its way to the Alliance. We are doing everything to bring the EU's political decision on membership for Ukraine closer. We are preparing a peace summit based on the Ukrainian peace formula," the president said.
He thanked all the leaders who support Ukraine on these issues, in particular, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen for supporting our initiatives to protect our children, search for and return young Ukrainians who were deported to Russia.
The president also thanked President of the European Council Charles Michel, who held a special security session in the framework of the Summit, and Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, for the decision on ammunition for Ukraine - for supporting the allocation of additional 500 million euros for this purpose.
"I thank all our soldiers! I thank everyone who trains our soldiers! Who helps us with weapons! Who treats our heroes after they are wounded! I thank all the rescuers, all our employees of the State Emergency Service and other services who are eliminating the consequences of Russian strikes! Thank you to all the volunteers who help our soldiers, our people and our country! I thank everyone with whom we are walking side by side to our victory, to our peace and to the punishment of Russian terrorists," the president concluded.
During his visit to Moldova for the summit of the European Political Community, Zelenskyy held an informal meeting with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, and Belgium, Alexander de Kroo.
They discussed the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters and other types of aircraft. They agreed to start this process in the near future.
They also discussed the future supply of aircraft and the creation of the necessary infrastructure.