Day 1713 of the war. Address of Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Ukrainians

Dear Ukrainians, today in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia region, since early morning, efforts have been made to save people after Russian air bomb strikes. All day, repeated alerts, threats of new strikes. People are under the rubble. It was a strike on a school building. Of course, classes were no longer held there. Komyshuvakha is very close to the front. The building and its shelter were used for humanitarian work, so that humanitarian aid could be distributed to people on Mondays.

The Russians launched the first strike just as people arrived. Several air bombs. Then there was a repeat strike. These were air bombs, and this time hitting the shelter. A terrorist strike. The Russians prove time and again that they hate Ukraine. Everything that is here. If Russia truly wanted de-escalation, then now, after Oleshky, there was a moment when humanitarian steps could have been continued. We proposed this. But Russia continues the killings.

As of now, it is known that 24 people have died. My condolences to their families and loved ones. Five people are in hospitals. Under the rubble, there are more people. Rescue operations will continue for as long as necessary to find every single person. The majority of the victims of this Russian strike were civilians who came for humanitarian aid, and those who came to help them after the first strike. The Russians knew that this was effectively a humanitarian facility. It is important that the world reacts to this. To every murder of our people by Russians.

To every escalatory step in the war. We know from intelligence that Russia is preparing a new massive strike on our country, primarily on energy and logistics. Effectively, the calculation is that the world will be following the American elections tomorrow. And what is happening here in Ukraine, and our difficulties with air defense, with missiles for Patriots, will remain out of the world's attention.

Signals from the world to Russia are needed so that they feel that there will be no benefit or profit for them from terror. And as long as this war continues, their oil will burn, and they will not be able to earn money from the world. We should not play around with Russian earnings from oil and gas. Pressure must be put on Russia so that they have no alternative but to end this war. America can do this, the world can do this. These Russian killings must stop. And we in Ukraine quite justly respond to Russia for all its strikes on our people, on our cities, with our tangible, accurate responses.

And I want to thank every one of our warriors for this accuracy, and all the units carrying out tasks regarding Ukraine's long-range sanctions. We will certainly respond to the strike that the Russians are currently preparing. One more thing, in recent weeks, repair crews and energy workers have been working practically around the clock across Ukraine to restore electricity after Russian shelling.

This year, the Russians have a new tactic; they are hitting not only generation but also launching many strikes against grids, against energy distribution. Much work is being done on restoration, and there are constant new strikes. Dozens of strikes per day. Our energy workers, our repairmen, are real heroes performing colossal work. Now, the speed of restoration is as important as the availability of missiles for air defense.

Therefore, every day must be absolutely effective in repairs, in restoration, construction, and protection. Today I instructed the government that this year, now in autumn and winter, a program that performed well last year must be renewed. All those involved in these repairs, the energy workers, need monthly bonuses so that people feel that society values what they do and how they work. There must also be rotations for teams working in the most difficult conditions. Ukrainian communities must truly go shoulder to shoulder in restoration. I expect that this week the government will present all the details of support for repair crews and energy workers.

Glory to Ukraine!