Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (07/10/2022)

The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 7 October 2022.

Ukrainians!

Today is the day of active diplomacy. We inform our partners about the latest manifestations of Russian terror. About missile strikes on Zaporizhzhia and other cities of Ukraine. About the use of Iranian drones against our people and infrastructure.

For some reason, Iran claims that there are no Iranian-made drones in Ukraine. People see them in the sky. We shoot them down. But we are told that there are allegedly no Iranian drones in Ukraine. Well, we’ll find ways to ensure that there aren’t any left indeed.

We also provide information about our movement on the frontline. Since October 1, more than half a thousand square kilometers of territory and dozens of settlements have been liberated from the Russian sham referendum and stabilized only in the Kherson region.

There are also successes in the eastern direction. The day will surely come when we will report on successes in the Zaporizhzhia region as well – in those areas that are still under the control of the occupiers. The day will come when we will also talk about the liberation of Crimea.

This perspective is obvious. It is also obvious that there is still some way to go. There is still a lot to endure, a lot to do. Both for Ukrainians and for our partners – all who value freedom and international law.

I’ve talked today with representatives of political, business and expert circles of Australia. I felt full support and interest in our victory. By the way, Australia is among the top 10 countries that provide us with defense aid. This is a very significant contribution to the protection of our state, the international legal order and humanity as such.

I’ve addressed the European leaders at the summit of the European Political Community held today in Prague. I called on them to do everything so that this new format of our cooperation in Europe, which unites different states: from Iceland to Azerbaijan, from Spain to Turkey, could become not just a gathering of politicians, but a gathering of peacemakers. Europe needs a community of those who know how to protect peace and put any terrorists in their place.

These days, the European Union is moving towards the introduction of the eighth package of sanctions against Russia. In particular, this package envisages limiting the sea transportation of Russian oil and creates a toolkit to limit the oil revenues of the terrorist state. This is good. But this is only the beginning.

We must ensure that the terrorist state does not receive any profit from the sale of oil and gas. So that not a single oil dollar and not a single gas euro could go to the continuation of the Russian war against Ukraine and the entire civilized world. I am confident that it will be ensured in due time.

And I thank all Europeans, all in the free world, who work for this result. Who promote the necessary political decisions and who create the necessary economic alternatives to Russian energy resources.

I will continue working in this direction tomorrow. I will address the participants of the meeting of the European Council.

Today in Kyiv I met with Samantha Power, head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). We discussed the existing and prospective programs of our cooperation, the implementation of our plan for the rapid reconstruction of Ukraine. The main focus of these programs is security. And we will soon introduce this new security approach to our civil infrastructure to the public.

I thanked Mrs. Power for allocating funds to prepare our infrastructure for the winter period, in particular heating.

I held a meeting today with IAEA Head Grossi, who arrived in Kyiv. It is clear that our negotiations primarily concerned the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant captured by Russian terrorists. But in fact, this topic is much broader. It concerns not only Ukraine and not only in the context of radiation safety.

Of course, any decisions of the current head of Russia regarding the Zaporizhzhia station and any attempts by Russia to transfer the station to its alleged ownership are worthless and, frankly speaking, stupid. This is a nuclear power plant. This is not some palace, Yukos or something else that the Russian leadership has already managed to steal.

Only Ukrainian specialists can guarantee that there will be no radiation incidents at the Zaporizhzhia station. And it was important to hear from Mr. Grossi that the international community will only contact Ukraine regarding the ZNPP, because it is Ukrainian property. Was, is and will be.

Now there are about five hundred occupiers at the station. And this is nothing but five hundred risks of disaster. The world understands this. And I am grateful for the support of everyone who is fighting for the return of full Ukrainian control over the station and for its complete demilitarization.

Another aspect of this topic is electricity itself. And if the Zaporizhzhia station is not working, we in Ukraine face certain difficulties. We are getting a situation where we do not have a surplus of electricity, which we can, in particular, export to EU countries.

This is a disadvantage for the people of the EU, who lose a reliable source of energy supply. This is a disadvantage for us, Ukrainians. We are honest about it. We say honestly that all of us in Europe must fight for our interests together – in complete unity.

I thank everyone who helps Ukraine!

I thank everyone who fights and works for our victory!

Glory to Ukraine!