President Zelenskyy: Lifting long-range strike restrictions will save thousands of lives

“Terror must always be defeated – this is the fundamental principle of protecting life. And this is what we will continue to talk about with our partners – just as air defense protects lives, lifting restrictions on long-range strikes will save thousands of human lives,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a traditional address to the Ukrainian nation on August 11.

Dear Ukrainians!

Our priority remains the maximum strengthening of Ukraine’s air shield. Our air defense, our combat aviation. Every night and every day during this war, Ukrainians suffer from Russian strikes. Much, indeed much, has already been done to improve our defense capabilities, but not everything necessary is in place yet. We do not stop working with our partners to acquire more air defense systems and to ensure better quality training and supplies for all units of our skies’ defenders.

Of course, one of the key elements of any state’s air shield is combat aviation. At all levels, we must continue to tell our partners what is needed to close the Ukrainian skies to Shahed drones and missiles. Including North Korean missiles.

Last night, our warriors shot down over fifty Shahed drones. There were also four ballistic missiles – the Russians launched them from the Voronezh region. We document all locations from which the Russian army launches strikes – including the Belgorod region, the Kursk region, and other areas. Since the beginning of this summer alone, almost 2,000 strikes have been made on our Sumy region from districts of the Kursk region only: artillery, mortars, drones. We also document every missile strike. And every one of these strikes deserves a fair response.

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