George Carwashington

I met with Mr. Lee Jae Myung @Jaemyung_Lee, President of the Republic of Korea. I am glad we had our first meeting. We are interested in productive relations with South Korea, and today we spoke about what is needed for both our countries. I am grateful for the recent decision to allocate $100 million for a comprehensive support package for our country. I instructed my team to work through everything we discussed today. Thank you.

Important work lies ahead in Ankara. We expect a strong and productive NATO Summit. Decisions are needed now that will provide greater protection for our people, more capabilities for our defense, and even stronger security cooperation between Ukraine, Europe, and the United States. The NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum, nearly twenty planned bilateral meetings with leaders, new Drone Deals, and other agreements with partners. We will continue to work on bolstering Ukraine’s air defense. New systems, missiles for them, and the issue of production licenses – all of this is our priority. We are grateful to everyone who is helping Ukraine with real steps.

We have completely eliminated the very idea of Russia having a strategic rear. For a long time, Russia believed it had a territorial advantage no one else possEssed – a deep rear where it could safely keep military production, military equipment, and everything its war depends on, believing no one could reach them. We have reached them. Just yesterday, Ukrainian drones broke-through Russia’s defenses and struck a Russian oil-refinery in Siberia. This is not an exception. It is the new reality. There is no major oil-refinery left in Russia that has not been struck by Ukraine. From a speech at the NATO Defense Industry Forum. (3/5)

I am deeply grateful to Canada for its new support package – a very substantial one worth $900 million. Our first concern is more air defense. Protecting lives is the main thing, and Russia's ballistic missile attacks, along with its other missile and drone strikes, are terror that must be confronted together with our partners. I am grateful to Canada, and to you personally, @MarkJCarney, for understanding this. We are also preparing a Drone Deal between our countries. This is not only about drones – it is about building a new and effective security system, real capabilities proven in this war. It will definitely come in handy. During our meeting, Mark and I also discussed the current diplomatic situation. I shared ideas on how we can bring peace closer and create a real incentive for Russia to engage in negotiations. Canada has invited Ukraine to become a founding member of the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank. It will work to attract investment and develop defense industrial capacity and battle-tested technologies. Thank you!

We continue bringing Ukrainians home from Russian captivity. Today, 160 servicemembers were released from captivity. All of them had been held captive since 2022. Among those released today are servicemembers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Special Transport Service, National Guard warriors, and border guards. They defended Ukraine in Mariupol and at Azovstal, as well as in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy sectors. I thank our entire team, which works every day to bring our people back. Special gratitude to all our units on the frontline who replenish Ukraine’s “exchange fund” and, through their courage, make it possible for us to bring people home. We remember everyone who remains in captivity. We are checking every name. We must bring everyone back – both military personnel and civilians.

It is with great sadness that I learned about the aftermath of the earthquakes in Venezuela and the loss of life they have caused. Our condolences go out to all affected families. I wish a speedy recovery to everyone injured and strength to all those searching through the rubble and working to save lives. Ukraine hopes that the world will find ways to help the Venezuelan people in this tragic situation, and we stand ready to assist – our first responders could join the search-and-rescue operations. We are now in communication with the Venezuelan side and the Europeans, awaiting the response to our proposal.