1679th day of the war. Address of Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Ukrainians

Dear Ukrainians, today the Russians launched an absolutely vile strike on Sumy, simply on residential buildings. And they are not even inventing reasons for these strikes anymore; they are not masking them. Four aerial bombs. Unfortunately, there is a casualty; one of the bombs hit a residential building, killing a person. Another bomb hit a school, an ordinary school, where children were at that very moment. The building is heavily damaged, but the children and teachers were in the shelter.

And thanks to this, fortunately, there were no casualties at the school.

There was another strike on Kyiv at night with ballistics and drones, and there were intercepts. It is important that ballistics were shot down, and since this morning, there have been more than a hundred drones. As of six in the evening, there were 29 reactive missiles, and 18 of them were shot down. Most of the ordinary Shaheds were shot down.

We are preparing new negotiated agreements, particularly regarding air defense and further support for Ukraine. These have already been negotiated this week. I want to thank all our partners who truly fulfill our agreements and supply anti-missiles for air defense. Recently, a package of missiles for NASAMS arrived in Ukraine. Thank you. A very good package. We are talking with all partners to ensure the necessary missiles are available. And for Patriot as well.

There is also a decision from Belgium today regarding F-16s. We are receiving three more aircraft this year. This is, in particular, our protection of the sky. Combat aviation is currently used to shoot down Shaheds. And I also thank the European Commission and the European Union today for preparing the decision regarding the next tranche of financial support. Last week we received 3.3 billion euros in funds. And in the coming days, we expect more good financial news from Brussels.

Specifically, budget support. Another tranche. I thank them. This is based on previously agreed figures for now.

Today I spoke with the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The Bank works a lot with us, with Ukraine, supporting our energy sector and the protection of critical infrastructure. We discussed the challenges ahead of winter, the needs, and what can be strengthened in our relations to provide more protection for people.

Another direction of joint work is the support of our exports. Support for our producers, particularly farmers and agricultural producers. We have agreed to increase this direction.

Today there were reports from our military regarding our long-range capabilities, on the priorities for the near future. Regarding the operations we are preparing. All of Ukraine's key long-range tasks are being carried out. And the Russian oil industry continues to feel Ukrainian influence.

Every week, we work in detail with developers and manufacturers of interceptors, necessary components, and everything that should provide a response to the Russian reactive component, to their Shahed attacks. Ukrainian interceptors are already being used in combat conditions. The effectiveness is not yet sufficient, but every week the intercept rate must increase. And so it will be.

We have set the tasks for October. Specific production volumes. This is a strategic task. Both at the level of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and at the level of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the level of every manufacturer, there are clear frameworks for what needs to be done.

I want to thank everyone who works for the sake of Ukraine. I thank everyone who protects Ukraine, who protects Ukrainians. Our cities, our villages, our country.

Glory to Ukraine!