Today, the Russian army carried out a missile strike on our Odesa region, and last night there was also a Russian attack on Odesa’s energy infrastructure. At one point we talked about the situation in this city and the people of Odesa with President Trump. Today’s Russian strike, like many others before it, had no – and could have no – military purpose whatsoever. A civilian vessel in the port of Chornomorsk was damaged. This once again proves that the Russians not only refuse to take the current opportunity for diplomacy seriously enough, but are also continuing the war aimed precisely at destroying normal life in Ukraine. It is crucial that, under such circumstances, the world maintains the proper moral compass: who is dragging out this war and who is working to end it with peace, who is using ballistic missiles against civilian life, and who is striking the targets that influence the functioning of Russia’s war machine. I am grateful to everyone around the world who is trying to spread accurate information and is preventing Russian propaganda from influencing political decisions. Right now, in Odesa and Chornomorsk, every effort is being made to protect lives – just as in Kharkiv, Sumy, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and the cities of Donetsk region. And it is essential that the desire to wage war stops dominating in Moscow. This depends solely on how the world responds to Russia’s actions. I thank everyone standing with Ukraine! I thank each person continuing to put pressure on Russia to achieve a true peace.

Today, I am in the Kupyansk sector, with our warriors who are getting the job done for Ukraine here. The Russians kept going on about Kupyansk – the reality speaks for itself. I visited our troops and congratulated them. Thank you to each and every warrior! I am proud of you! And I thank all of our Land Forces – today is your day!

Today, Ukraine has been elected to the UNESCO Executive Board for 2025–2029 with the highest vote count. Together with Romania and Moldova, we outstripped Russia—for the second time in a row Moscow lost the elections and remains excluded from the Board. Thank you to the member states that supported our candidacy. Alongside our partners, we will use every opportunity UNESCO provides to restore life, defend our culture, heritage, and people. We will make sure that all forms of Russian aggression, be it war or hybrid threats, are well-countered. There is no alternative to peace. Itʼs time Moscow learned that.

Today, following a conversation with President Trump, we further coordinated positions with European leaders. The positions are clear. A real peace must be achieved, one that will be lasting, not just another pause between Russian invasions. Killings must stop as soon as possible, the fire must cease both on the battlefield and in the sky, as well as against our port infrastructure. All Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians must be released, and the children abducted by Russia must be returned. Thousands of our people remain in captivity – they all must be brought home. Pressure on Russia must be maintained while the aggression and occupation continue. In my conversation with President Trump, I said that sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war. Sanctions are an effective tool. Security must be guaranteed reliably and in the long term, with the involvement of both Europe and the U.S. All issues important to Ukraine must be discussed with Ukraine’s participation, and no issue, particularly territorial ones, can be decided without Ukraine. I thank our partners who are helping. Today, there is an important statement from European leaders that strengthens our position. We continue working together – Europeans, Americans, and everyone in the world who wants peace and stability in international relations. bundesregierung.de/breg-de/a…

We had a long and substantive conversation with @POTUS. We started with one-on-one talks before inviting European leaders to join us. This call lasted for more than an hour and a half, including about an hour of our bilateral conversation with President Trump. Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace. President Trump informed about his meeting with the Russian leader and the main points of their discussion. It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation. We support President Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the USA, and Russia. Ukraine emphasizes that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this. On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C., to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war. I am grateful for the invitation. It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America. We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. We continue to coordinate our positions with all partners. I thank everyone who is helping.