We Must Keep Up Pressure on russia – In All Directions – To Finally Bring Peace – Speech by the President at the Special Meeting of the G7 Leaders

Mr. Prime Minister,

Dear leaders,

Last night, Russia carried out one of the largest combined attacks on Ukraine since the beginning of this war. The targets were our cities – meaning ordinary people, ordinary families in their homes. There were 440 drones, most of them Shaheds, and 32 missiles of various types, including ballistic ones and those with cluster warheads. One ballistic missile hit a residential building – it went through from the top floor down to the basement. Rescue operations are still ongoing. People are being searched for under the rubble. In Kyiv alone, there were about 30 locations where either missiles struck or debris fell. Nearly 150 residential buildings were damaged in Kyiv alone. As of now, we know that 131 people were injured. 15 people were killed. Among the dead is one foreign national – a citizen of the United States. We are now confirming the full details.

Our air defense systems were active across almost the entire country, and it’s important that a significant number of drones and missiles were intercepted. This is thanks in large part to your countries, to those who are helping us with air defense systems and missiles for them. This support is truly a matter of life and death. We must continue receiving air defense systems and missiles. And it’s time to move toward localized production in Ukraine – of everything needed for air defense. This is not a luxury – it is an urgent need to save lives, here and now.

We must also take into account the cooperation between Russia and Iran on one side, and Russia and North Korea on the other. A clear example is Russia upgrading Iranian Shahed drones and then transferring their production – upgraded versions – to North Korea. This is a threat not only to Ukraine. We’re working now to develop and deploy interception drones – to protect our cities from Shaheds. Our cities – and, therefore, yours. And we need additional financing to produce them; the exact numbers will be provided by our team. And this – new interceptors – are important for Europe, for the Indo-Pacific, and for Japan, and Canada, and the United States. Even if the American President now does not apply strong enough pressure on Russia, the truth is – America still has the most global interests and the most allies. They will all need strong protection. We will all have to keep working together – with the highest possible level of coordination. Not just political and diplomatic, but also technological and investment-based. I urge you to continue increasing investments in weapons production in Ukraine – this is the fastest way to achieve results.

One more point. We all see that Russia is ignoring every diplomatic offer made by the international community. Diplomacy is in crisis. And there is one clear reason – Putin has openly rejected every peace initiative. Russia continues to carry out terrorist attacks and offensive actions on the front line. And Russia faces no new consequences in return. Russia has adapted to this level of warfare – and is now only ramping up its attacks. If last year it was shocking to see 100 Shahed drones used in one night, now it’s unusual if fewer than 100 are used in a single strike. In fact, this is the only real change in Russia’s behavior since the change of the U.S. President. And it proves that those supporting new and stronger sanctions against Russia are absolutely right. I urge all of you – and I urge you to work with the United States – to enforce a strict price cap on Russian oil. Right now, the proposed cap is $45 per barrel, but many experts agree that a truly effective level is $30. Together, we must make this painful for Russia. The EU’s 18th sanctions package must also hit Russian energy and banks.

And it’s important to have 40 billion USD annually of budgetary support for Ukraine – for our resilience, for our country to carry on. And it should be a common decision of G7 leaders, including the U.S.

And together, we must continue urging President Trump to use the influence he really has – to force Putin to end this war. It was the U.S. and President Trump who proposed a ceasefire, the resumption of diplomacy, immediate meetings and negotiations. But Russia has blocked every effort. This war continues because of Russia. From the start, it has been an unprovoked and criminal war of aggression. We must not forget that. And we must keep up pressure – in all directions – to finally bring peace.

Thank you.