270 of our people are home. A very important result. National Guard members, including Azov warriors, border guards, warriors of the Territorial Defense Forces, the Navy, the Land Forces, the Airborne Assault Forces, and the State Special Transport Service, as well as nine civilians, are returning home. Most of them had been in captivity since 2022. Most of those released are warriors who defended Ukraine in Mariupol. Defenders from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Chernihiv sectors are also returning. Many were illegally convicted in Russia. Among those returning are five people who survived the Russian terrorist attack in Olenivka in July 2022. We remember one and all and continue searching for everyone. I thank everyone who works to make these exchanges possible. And, of course, I am grateful to our warriors who are replenishing Ukraine’s prisoner exchange fund on the front so that we can bring our people home. Glory to Ukraine!

There were reports on efforts to deal with the aftermath of Russian attacks on our cities and communities. Overnight, Russia used, among other weapons, three ballistic missiles with cluster warheads against Kyiv. These missiles are designed to detonate in the air as they approach their targets, spreading damage across an area 400 meters in diameter. One of them struck Pechersk, Kyiv's historic center, hitting the area between the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the Holy Presentation Monastery. Monastery buildings, homes, shops, cafés, and other civilian infrastructure were damaged. This is another extraordinarily revealing strike – revealing because it was no accident. The choice of weapon was deliberate, the choice of target area was deliberate, and so was the intent to inflict as much loss and damage on civilians as possible. There was no military target nearby, not even in theory, and the weapon was designed to cause widespread destruction. Russia has not changed the way it wages this war, and it is taking no steps that would signal a genuine desire to end it. Throughout the day, air raid alerts have continued in Kyiv and many other cities. So have the strikes. In Kharkiv, a regular commuter train was hit. Dnipro, Marhanets, Mykolaiv, and Kherson, as well as cities and villages in the Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Rivne regions, came under attack. Russia keeps targeting our energy infrastructure. Since October 11, there have been more than 170 strikes on critical energy facilities, even though we are shooting down a significant number of “shaheds” and some of the missiles. I thank all our friends around the world who are helping us restore our energy system. Our intelligence services report that Russia has set priorities for further terror against Ukrainians in the coming weeks. Russia is clearly taking advantage of the slowdown in air defense supplies from our partners. It is equally clear that when some partners ease the pressure on Russia, it only reinforces Putin's belief that his goals are within reach. We need different signals and different steps – stronger ones. I have instructed the Ministry of Defense, together with the military command and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to brief our partners on every aspect of the real situation and the threats we face, based on intelligence data. It is important to speed up deliveries of defense packages that have already been approved. I thank all the leaders and countries that are helping!

Three waves of ballistic missiles have been launched at Kyiv by Russian “humanitarians” since yesterday evening. They used 21 missiles. Unfortunately, numerous sites across the city have been hit and damaged: ordinary residential buildings, energy facilities, infrastructure at one of the railway stations and the metro, shopping malls, and businesses. Even a monastery is among the damaged sites. Our emergency services are working at all the affected locations. Twelve of our regions came under Russian attack overnight. In Kyiv and across the regions, 34 people were injured, including five children. As of now, two people have been confirmed killed. My condolences to their families and loved ones. Almost immediately after another round of talks, Russia launched a pointed attack. This means there has been no real change in its attitude toward everything that is happening. It is important to keep trying to find the right solutions to end this war. But when Russia responds to negotiations with ballistic missiles, real pressure on Russia is needed to bring about different steps – steps toward ending the killing. Stronger air defenses and the rapid delivery of missiles, the ability to destroy ballistic missile launchers, sanctions over the war – all of this must be in place. I am grateful to everyone who sees the situation for what it is and acknowledges the reality. The aggressor deserves to be treated accordingly. Ukraine deserves support. People's lives deserve protection. Thank you to everyone who stands with Ukraine!

I am grateful for your support for Ukraine. Thank you. We’ve been through a lot together – during these years of full-scale war. None of us wanted this war, absolutely none of us. But it is us who have to deal with its brutality and all the instability it has caused. Unity in defense is always built by many standing together. Without a determined European Union capable of making strong decisions Putin would have gone much further by now. The European Union has not fallen apart. It has not backed down or given in to fear when it came to defending the European way of life. And that mattered just as much as the courage of Ukrainians. From an address to the participants of the European Council meeting. (1/5)