1685th day of the war. Address of Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Ukrainians

Dear Ukrainians, today much international work is being done specifically so that we have enough capabilities to defend ourselves against Russian strikes. I spoke with the President of France today, as well as with the Prime Ministers of Poland and the Netherlands. I thank everyone for the willingness to hear Ukraine and to help us. Effectively, all over the world now we are finding ammunition for F-16s; this is one of the strongest tools today for shooting down jet Shaheds. There are already packages on the way and there will be more additional ones, so that our aircraft have what they need to work to protect our cities.

I thank the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, and it was very constructive and very prompt today. Thank you for the work. Thank you also to France for new steps. Emmanuel and I have agreed that Ukrainian pilots will begin training on Rafales. This supports both our defense of the sky and the industry of France. We discussed some details of the situation with the Prime Minister of Poland, and we coordinated our work at the level of the European Union. And if the security situation in Ukraine allows, we will certainly meet with the Prime Minister in the coming weeks.

Donald, Mr. Prime Minister, thank you. Today I also spoke with the Prime Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Koretskyi regarding additional protective steps. The Minister of Defense, the Minister of Infrastructure, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine were in contact today. Important. We are increasing the level of protection every day. This concerns both turrets and special groups for shooting down Shaheds. We expect that manufacturers will be fast with interceptors. The tasks are defined, the funding is available. We are preparing new contracts for air defense systems, for air defense missiles, and for now, without public details, but there may be good steps.

This is important. It is important for us that solutions exist. And also, I ask our partners, we need more anti-ballistics to protect the infrastructure specifically. This is the main challenge right now. Leaders see what is happening, that Russia definitely does not intend to move from escalation to victory. Of course, we are using all possible options to activate diplomacy. I hope that in October, the American side will manage to organize a trilateral meeting.

Our team is ready for the meeting. Readiness is needed from Russia. It is necessary that diplomacy appears among Russia's priorities. So far, they are focused only on strikes on Ukraine and on destabilizing activities in Europe. Putin now knows the situation in Europe regarding specific countries and the statistics on strikes much better than what is happening on the front in general. He has clear priorities. An important task for America and all our other strong partners is to incline Russia toward diplomacy, toward real steps instead of killings.

Today, Russia sank a ship with corn in the neutral waters of the Black Sea using drones. This is an absolutely peaceful cargo. They hit a vessel chartered from Turkey, citizens of Azerbaijan and citizens of India. The ship's captain died. Another crew member is missing. Today, a rescue operation lasted all day in Kharkiv after the strike of Russian bombs. More than 50 people were injured. People were searched for under the rubble and, unfortunately, there are dead. My condolences to all relatives and loved ones.

Now all leaders, all of us in Europe, all in America, absolutely all partners need to focus. And right now, in October, to add the maximum protection against Russian strikes and the maximum to our diplomatic capabilities. I thank everyone who is truly actively helping and, please, take care of yourselves. Glory to Ukraine!