President Zelenskyy: We’re closing the drone production funding gap

“I spoke with Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs about a special meeting with Ukrainian ambassadors – this meeting will take place in just two weeks,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a traditional address to the Ukrainian nation on July 7.

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

I held a Staff meeting today. Reports on the front – primarily the Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka directions, as well as the Orikhiv direction, the Sumy region, and separately – our actions on Russian territory near the border, in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. The occupiers will not feel safe there. We had a very detailed discussion about drones – we must significantly increase the use of all types of drones that help directly on the front lines. We will increasingly rely on drones and technological solutions to hold back Russian assaults and enable our active operations. I am grateful to everyone advancing this field and developing the necessary solutions. We are also continuing our work to counter air strikes. Everything related to air defense is today our top priority – air defense systems, missiles for them, and drone-based air defense. We are also preparing new agreements with partners and expect to formalize them in the coming weeks. Step by step, we are closing the funding gap for the production of drones and interceptor drones, and filling Ukrainian production lines with specific orders. At the same time, we are working with partners to ensure that production in their countries operates at full capacity as well – both for our shared defense today and for partners’ arsenals after the war.

Full text of the address: Office of the President of Ukraine