Held my first call with the newly appointed UK Defence Secretary @DanJarvisMBE. As we maintain the battlefield initiative, the next 6-9 months are critical to turning the tide—provided our partners sustain rapid, high-impact support. We focused on boosting our air defense, procuring advanced radars, and securing Gripen jets to neutralize Russian glide bomb carriers. We also discussed utilizing frozen Russian assets to fund our defense capabilities and thanked the UK for its decisive actions against Russia’s shadow fleet. Grateful to the UK for its unwavering strategic partnership. Looking forward to expanding our cooperation on defense tech and coordination ahead of the UDCG summit.

Efforts to deal with the aftermath of the Russian strikes are ongoing in Kyiv, as well as in Kharkiv. Last night, the Russians launched more than 60 missiles at the capital alone. In total, 70 missiles and 611 drones were used against Ukraine. As of now, 28 people have been reported injured and four killed in the capital. My condolences to all their families and loved ones. A Russian strike on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra set the Dormition Cathedral on fire – a church whose history dates back to the 11th century. And this is one of Russia’s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date. The State Emergency Service has already extinguished the fire on the cathedral’s roof. In Kharkiv, the Russians carried out a repeat strike against our rescuers as they were putting out a fire at the site of an earlier strike on an industrial facility. So far, tragically, five people have been confirmed killed. My condolences to all their families and loved ones. Nine people have been injured. In Dnipro, Russia struck the grounds of a railway station, a college, and several enterprises. Other cities and communities were targeted as well. The Kyiv, Dnipro, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Mykolaiv regions were also under attack. This is how Russia shows the world its intention to continue the war. It is very important that there be a response from the G7 countries, which are now gathering for their summit – and that this response be decisive and substantive: more pressure on the aggressor and more support for Ukraine’s air defense, especially anti-ballistic capabilities. I thank everyone who is helping us protect lives.

Met with the newly appointed Latvian Defense Minister Raivis Melnis. We are expanding our strategic defense cooperation, focused on scaling the Drone Deal, introducing Latvian anti-drone systems, and deploying strike UAVs, UGVs, and sea drones to the front line. We discussed driving flexible EU credit lines directly into our top battlefield priorities and expanding support via the PURL mechanism. We also invited Latvian partners to leverage the Test in Ukraine initiative to battle-test cutting-edge innovations in real warfare conditions. Grateful to Latvia for committing 0.25% of its GDP to our victory and for leading the Drone Coalition. Together, we are building a true win-win partnership that secures the future of European defense.