We Are Scaling up Ukraine’s Potential, Particularly Regarding Interceptors – Address by the President

27 June 2025 – 21:15

Dear Ukrainians!

Today has been a full and busy day. I held a meeting of the Staff – specifically its technological division, the Technology Staff. There were detailed reports on drones, covering all aspects: financing, production, and the necessary regulatory streamlining. The key goal is to maximize production, particularly of the types of drones needed on the frontline and for defending our cities, also taking into account the development of enemy technologies. At the Staff meeting, we heard reports from the military command, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Strategic Industries. Our intelligence presented a detailed report on Russia’s technological plans and intentions. We are scaling up Ukraine’s potential, particularly regarding interceptors. I gave several special instructions – I’m not disclosing the details yet, but the outcome must be clear: increased production in Ukraine and for Ukraine. All opportunities must be available – both for businesses and for state manufacturers. The main point is that the scale of our production and the pace of drone development must be fully aligned with the conditions of the war.

Today I also held a meeting with our diplomats: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration; the team of the Presidential Office was also present. These past weeks have been especially intense with our meetings in Europe and in Canada, at the G7 Summit. There are agreements on defense packages and joint production with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, and other partners. There are also areas for collaboration with the United States. Many agreements have been reached with France and Germany as well. All of these need to be effectively implemented: from joint drone production and investments to our long-range capability projects, including missile development.

Today, there is also a decision to significantly accelerate sanctions pressure on Russia. I want to thank our partners who are already preparing the EU’s 18th sanctions package. New sanction measures have also been introduced by the United Kingdom and Canada. We are coordinating on sanctions with all G7 nations, as well as with other key global jurisdictions. All necessary sanctions imposed by the world against Russia must also be fully enforced within our Ukrainian jurisdiction. Likewise, Ukrainian sanctions against all who support Russia, against those holding or acquiring business assets in the temporarily occupied territories, and effectively sponsoring the occupation – the Ukrainian sanctions against such actors must also be fully enforced in key jurisdictions. Russia’s accountability for this war and our sanctions pressure must be operating at full capacity. They must leave no room for Russia or its cronies to adapt. I thank everyone who is helping. I thank everyone working for Ukraine.

Glory to Ukraine!

President Zelenskyy also addressed the Fair Play conference. Video followed by the transcript.

This War Must Become an Ever-Growing Problem for Russia – Speech by the President at the Fair Play Conference

27 June 2025 – 18:53

Glory to Ukraine!

Dear friends!

Today, we are all here for the sake of actions that can have the most serious impact on the aggressor state. Each of you has seen just how much evidence there is that Russia is critically dependent on its ties to the world. Without those ties, this war simply would not have been possible.

Russian missiles, drones, nearly all the equipment on the battlefield that is actually effective, Russian finances, their tech companies and communications – all of this depends on how Russia trades with the world, how Russia sells oil and other goods, and imports technologies, equipment, and components. Russian weapons production directly depends on access to modern machine tools. Russian missiles and drones are made up of dozens of critical components that they import – import from other countries through various schemes. The Russian budget is critically dependent on oil and gas revenues. The Russian economy and Russian oligarchs cannot function properly without financial ties to global jurisdictions. And no less important are the personal assets of Putin’s so-called “elite” – all those murderers and their accomplices. They love money. They love their life of luxury. They hoard stolen wealth, want a good education for their children – particularly in Europe – and need proper healthcare. The longer Russia wages war, the less of the “proper” remains in Russia. It is precisely the so-called “Putin’s elite” that understands this very well – and desperately wants the West not only to avoid introducing new sanctions, but also to ease all the existing ones. That is why our common task is clear: as long as Russia invests in this war, the entire world must remain as closed to them as possible. This is about security – ours and yours – and about basic human justice. And it is exactly what we must ensure through sanctions regimes – both ours and those of our partners.

Unfortunately, today, even Western countries continue to supply Russia with equipment and critical components. Our experts have already identified hundreds of types of various components found in Russian drones and in Russian missiles. Unfortunately, just over the past year, deliveries of machine tools to military-industrial facilities in Russia have been recorded from at least 12 countries – including China and Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Türkiye, and the United States. There is also information about supply contracts already planned for the upcoming year, 2026. All of this must be stopped. Absolutely. Further pressure is also needed on every actor in the world who helps Russia maintain its exports, who helps it transport oil, or find ways to circumvent financial restrictions. We must already be working to ensure that cutting-edge technologies – particularly in the field of artificial intelligence – are prioritized in export control policies by partner states, as AI is increasingly being integrated into weaponry. It is necessary to immediately impose restrictions on the supply to Russia of ready-made artificial intelligence models suitable for military use; also, tools and services for training AI, including cloud-based solutions; high-performance computing equipment, as well as specialized data sets, including commercial satellite imagery. Therefore, our sanctions must be highly specific in each area and as up-to-date as possible. A new international platform for controlling the export of dual-use goods must be established, which should help us not only to defend ourselves directly against Russia, but also indirectly against its accomplices, such as the regimes in Pyongyang and Tehran. I would like to specifically acknowledge the work of everyone involved in limiting Russia’s earnings from energy resources. Thanks to our state institutions, our strong partners, and cooperation with civil society, there have been truly positive results in imposing sanctions against Russia’s shadow tanker fleet. And this effort must be scaled up even further. We must extend sanctions to tanker captains, all related legal entities, and terminals from which Russian oil is shipped. This is an enormous everyday task – from export controls and supply chain restrictions to blocking financial instruments and imposing personal sanctions. But all of it is necessary, because without it, Moscow will not consider peace.

Of course, we are doing our part. Our sanctions packages are very proactive – and I want to thank the entire team that makes this possible. Today, Ukraine is introducing new sanctions against manufacturers and suppliers of components and equipment for the Russian military industry – another 87 entities, most of which are Russian. But we must become even faster and stronger. That is why today the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine has made a clear decision on all sanctions synchronization. This is an absolutely essential process. As of today, there are differences in the speed of sanctions implementation. In some cases, we in Ukraine act more swiftly; in others, our partners move more actively against certain individuals or sectors that deserve strong sanctions.

Today, we are launching an expedited synchronization process. Every necessary decision by our partners regarding sanctions against Russia and related individuals must be swiftly implemented in Ukraine. And our Ukrainian sanctions – against those who have chosen Russia and who have chosen war, against those who assist aggression – must also be confirmed in other jurisdictions. We need to work more actively with companies directly – with key global manufacturers, primarily of equipment and components, with leading developers – to ensure stronger control at the production level over where specifically their products end up. Negligence in control must lead to inclusion in sanctions lists and effective restrictions.

This war must become an ever-growing problem for Russia. Every Russian strike on our cities and communities must trigger new sanctions in response. I’ve had productive meetings in Europe and at the G7 Summit in Canada with our partners – and sanctions were among the key topics of discussion. Our partners are ready to support us, and I want to thank them for that. We expect all our state institutions – starting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Bank, and the National Security and Defense Council – to work more swiftly and deliver results in sync with those of our partners. The task is absolutely clear. The deadlines are absolutely clear. And the outcomes can be clearly measured. We must significantly ramp up sanctions pressure. Thank you to everyone who is helping us! Thank you for today, for organizing everything, and thank you to everyone who is striking back at Russia in response to the war – rightly so.

Glory to Ukraine!

I have not seen any reporting regarding the attendance of either Terry Sloan or Michael Holt.

President Zelenskyy also addressed the Forum of State and Business:

Georgia:

For the 122th consecutive night, Rustaveli Avenue is blocked. Protests continue in 8+ cities across Georgia.

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 1:42 PM

Number of political prisoners in Georgia — Who’s Next? – Performance in Zugdidi.

#GeorgiaProtests
Day 212

📷 Tsabunia Vartagava

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 12:27 PM

A political performance in Zugdidi, Georgia: 65 empty chairs for 65 political prisoners. A visual reminder to help the public grasp just how many people are behind bars for their political beliefs.

Day 112 of daily protests across 8+ cities in Georgia.

📷 Mariam Sitchinava

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 11:56 AM

BREAKING: Elene Khoshtaria announces a hunger strike!

She is one of the leaders of Coalition for Change, the leader of Droa party and one of the couple of leaders who aren’t jailed by the regime yet.

She will remain at the protest location, Rustaveli Avenue.

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 1:32 PM

Helen Khoshtaria begins a hunger strike.

“If GD doesn’t value life and freedom: if the life of Giorgi Akhobadze’s mother or the death of Onise Tskhadadze’s father means nothing, here is my life and freedom.

Statement for the people: revolution and the overthrow of the regime”.

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 1:24 PM

Helen Khoshtaria—one of the few opposition leaders in Georgia not yet behind bars—has begun a hunger strike on Rustaveli Avenue. She’ll be there 24/7. She has multiple chronic health conditions. She has four children (three minors).

Time is running out in Georgia.

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 1:40 PM

So very telling.

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 1:55 AM

More information:

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 1:55 AM

Judge Nino Galustashvili sentenced former UNM member and MP Givi Targamadze to 7 seven months in prison for failing to appear before Tea Tsulukiani’s commission.

#TerrorinGeorgia

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 2:49 AM

After the court announced the sentence, Givi Targamadze voluntarily went to the police station, where he was arrested.

📷 Mariam Qavshbaia/Publika

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 5:36 AM

Givi Targamadze has been sentenced to prison in Russia and Belarus for supporting the opposition there. He is also a witness against Russia in the ICC’s case into the August 2008 war. Arrest warrants for war crimes were issued based on his testimony.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 6:17 AM

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 3:33 AM

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 8:37 AM

On June 26, the father of Onise Tskhadadze, one of the protest detainees, passed away.

In photos: Onise, his brother Sandro (who has just received the news), and their father, Givi Tskhadadze, at a protest rally a few months ago.

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 5:42 AM

Fifth President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, has condemned the latest arrests of opposition figures, calling the number of political prisoners detained in just one week unprecedented, not only for Georgia, but for many countries worldwide.

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 9:12 AM

Germany:

Six military trucks were set on fire by unknown in Germany, with footage of the sabotage surfacing on Russian Telegram channels. It’s wise not to rush to conclusions about who’s behind it, but such weak media coverage is quite puzzling

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— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) June 26, 2025 at 10:52 PM

2/ The footage appeared on Russian Telegram channels alongside the following post:

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— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) June 26, 2025 at 10:52 PM

3/ According to investigations by the German public broadcaster MDR Investigativ, 4 trucks were completely destroyed and two others were slightly damaged. A year earlier another arson attack on military vehicles had occurred at the MAN site in Erfurt, according to them

— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) June 26, 2025 at 10:52 PM

4/ Whether Russia was behind the attack remains unclear, but it is known to conduct sabotage and assassinations in the EU. If this proves part of Russian hybrid warfare, the response must be firm and leave no room for ambiguity, otherwise it will keep getting worse

— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) June 26, 2025 at 10:52 PM

Back to Ukraine.

The so-called russian red lines, crossing of which brought no response from russia.
But it did cost Ukraine innocent lives. Many lives.
Every. Single. Time.

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— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 3:03 AM

I think I have bingo.

3xSDB air strike on Russian drone operator base.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 3:32 PM

🕊🔥 I think the Ukrainian pilot was shocked by what he saw, while the orcs were in a state of frenzied euphoria!
The drone pilot hit one of the shells on the launcher.
The ammunition detonated prematurely, pierced the crew cabin, and caused the entire ammunition load to detonate.

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— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 11:01 AM

😎 You can see this aesthetic again from a different angle! 💥
The result was the complete destruction of the enemy MLRS along with its crew.

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— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 11:01 AM

Gives new meaning to the command “make it hot!”

Also, this was a North Korean M1991 240mm MLRS that the Ukrainians blew up real good!

Two Russian Forpost-R reconnaissance and strike UAVs targeted by the interceptor drones.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 10:07 AM

Ukrainian air defense fighters shot down a Russian “Gerber” drone using a Ukrainian FPV-interceptor “Bagnet,” reports DroneBomber.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 9:28 AM

The “Sky Ryders” Ukrainian drone crew struck a Russian logistics route with an FPV drone, hitting a mined railway bridge on the eastern front.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 8:03 AM

Odesa:

A video has emerged showing Russian Iskander ballistic missile striking a school building in the Odesa region just days ago, murdering three. The strike also injured over a dozen people, including teenagers.
Bastards.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 4:06 PM

Kyiv:

The barrages targeting Ukraine’s capital have been heavier and longer than at almost any point since Russia’s invasion, killing at least 40 people this month.

“A few more nights like this and I feel like people are going to start leaving Kyiv again.”
w/ @fabricedeprez.bsky.social

on.ft.com/4eqYDFB

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— Christopher Miller (@christopherjm.ft.com) June 27, 2025 at 3:50 AM

From The Financial Times:

A wave of Russian night-time attacks on Kyiv have rattled a city hardened by three years of war, as millions of residents lose sleep to the sounds of sirens, drones and explosions while praying that their homes will not be hit.

The barrages targeting the Ukrainian capital have been heavier and longer than at almost any point since Russia’s full-scale invasion, killing at least 40 people this month. In an intense bombardment on Monday this week, Kyiv and other cities were targeted by 368 missiles and drones, leaving nine people dead.

“It’s much worse than a few months ago, the alerts are so long now, all night,” said Darya Malyutina, a Ukrainian language teacher who has been living in Kyiv with her husband for the past 10 years. The couple fled from their native Luhansk in eastern Ukraine in 2015, when Russian-backed separatists took control of the city.

“A few more nights like this and I feel like people are going to start leaving Kyiv again,” Malyutina told the Financial Times.

On June 17, 28 people were killed in Kyiv when Russia fired 175 drones and 14 cruise and ballistic missiles at the city in one night — the deadliest strike in nearly a year. Rescue teams pulled 23 bodies out of the rubble of a nine-floor residential building that collapsed after being hit. Three emergency responders also died during an air raid on Kyiv earlier this month.

For the couple, the long hours of night-time attacks are now spent in the bathroom trying to calm their dog, who becomes terrified by the loud explosions. They have long given up going to underground shelters, opting to try to get as much sleep as possible inside the thick walls of their building.

It is not just Kyiv. On Tuesday, the south-eastern city of Dnipro was struck by Russian missiles, killing 16 people and injuring more than 170 others, authorities said. One of the missiles exploded beside a passenger train packed with people, shattering windows and wounding dozens. In north-eastern Sumy, officials reported three people were killed in a Russian drone strike.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned this month, before the June 17 attack, that it was “imperative” for Ukrainians to pay attention to raid alerts.

Before the barrages escalated, many people had grown accustomed to the air strikes and ignored the warnings. Perhaps now more than ever, when sirens start blaring, Ukrainians check dedicated Telegram channels to follow the trajectory of incoming Russian drones.

But in a city that has endured three years of war and about 1,700 air raid alerts — five of which lasted more than six hours just this month — reactions still differ.

Some residents head to underground car parks, metro stations or to one of the 4,000 facilities registered as shelters. But the large majority opt to stay in their flats, laying down mattresses in corridors away from the windows or turning bathtubs into makeshift beds for children.

Russia has also significantly increased its production of drones and missiles of all types, allowing it to attack in increasingly larger swarms.

Konrad Muzyka, director of Rochan Consulting, a Poland-based group that tracks the war, said Russia had launched more Shahed drones this spring than at any time during the war. “In June, they have already launched 4,342, and if the current tempo is maintained, the total may exceed 5,000 by the end of the month,” he said.

“What we’re seeing right now isn’t necessarily an evolution of the Russian strategy,” said Muzyka. “It’s more that Russia is now able to implement what the Russian and Soviet militaries were doing in previous wars: strikes targeting the civilian population and critical infrastructures as well as military targets.”

More than three years of full-scale war and dwindling prospects of successful peace negotiations have also taken a heavy toll on people’s morale.

“On top of the exhaustion that people feel, there’s now a sense of despondency, a lack of confidence in the future,” said Yatsushko, the psychologist.

More at the link.

Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast:

Russian missile attack on Chuhuiv in Kharkiv region injured 3 people

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 1:40 PM

Kharkiv:

Remember Kherson human safari?

Well, since Russia wasn’t punished, it spread.

KHARKIV on the video. Russian drone strikes a civilian car. On purpose.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 9:38 AM

Izium, Kharkiv Oblast:

An agricultural facility in the Izium district of Kharkiv Region was hit by a Russian airstrike. The blast resulted in two injuries, the death of cattle, and a fire that spread across 700 square meters, the State Emergency Service reported

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 7:55 AM

Donetsk Oblast:

These, of course, were supposed to be protected by the US-Ukraine minerals deal…

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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 2:02 PM

From The Insider:

Russian forces have taken control of the town of Shevchenko in Ukraine’s Donetsk Region, home to one of the country’s most promising lithium deposits, according to a report by the French newspaper Le Figaro.

The town of Shevchenko is located just three kilometers from the border with the Dnipropetrovsk Region, near Velyka Novosilka, which fell under Russian control in January of this year. Le Figaro notes that the lithium deposit was discovered in 1982 and spans approximately 40 hectares (close to 100 acres). For several days, the site has been under Russian military control, as it lies on the eastern outskirts of the town.

Lithium is extracted from the mineral spodumene, and according to Ukrainian geologists, the concentration of spodumene in the ore from Shevchenko reaches up to 90%. This makes it the only explored lithium deposit in Ukraine where lithium is present in an easily extractable form. Aside from lithium, rare metals such as tantalum, niobium, beryllium, rubidium, and cesium have also been found in the area.

Ukrainian scientists estimated before the 2022 invasion that the country held up to 500,000 tons of lithium reserves — more than Portugal, which hosts Europe’s largest known deposits.

Two of Ukraine’s four lithium sites are located in the country’s western regions and remain under Kyiv’s control. However, the other two — Shevchenko and Kruta Balka, near the Sea of Azov — are now held by Russian forces. Lithium is a key component in the production of batteries for electric vehicles and other devices, and global prices for the metal have surged in recent years.

From an economic standpoint, Le Figaro writes, developing Ukraine’s lithium industry remains a complex task: hard rock deposits like those in Ukraine require far more investment than lithium extraction from brine lakes, such as those commonly found in South America.

The paper also notes that U.S. President Donald Trump once proposed that Ukraine repay shipments of military aid with deliveries of strategic raw materials. In the spring of 2025, Washington and Kyiv signed a cooperation agreement on mineral resources, although its terms remain unclear. Meanwhile, according to Le Figaro, Trump did not rule out the possibility of sharing Ukraine’s resources with Russia, and in phone calls with Vladimir Putin, the American president has reportedly discussed the potential “joint development” with Russia of Ukraine’s mineral wealth.

Tokmak, Zaporizhzhia Oblast:

🚂💥 Near occupied Tokmak, a powerful strike in the echelon of the Russians.

❗️It seems that the railway line built by the enemy in the south is becoming increasingly dangerous for the occupiers. We continue to cut off the logistics of the Russians.

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— MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 6:58 AM

The Zaporizhzhia front:

As reported, Russian forces redeploy equipment through occupied Mariupol, prepping a new offensive on the Zaporizhzhia front. Along Rostov-Novoazovsk-Mariupol, ~7 platforms with tanks and 40 trucks with troops moved. A column with 20 trucks and 5 BMP carriers heads via Crimea and Kherson to Mariupol

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 3:44 AM

The Kursk cross border offensive:

Video shows Ukrainian fighters taking out 2 Russian 2S1 Gvozdika howitzers and 8 camouflaged artillery guns in Kursk with FPV drones.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 6:56 AM

Marinovka, Volgograd Oblast, Russia:

The General Staff reports that Ukrainian defenders continue to target the archer. Today, it was russian “Marinovka” airfield in Volgograd region where 2 russian Su-34 jets were destroyed & 2 damaged. The strike was carried out w/ long-range drones. Su-34s are russia’s main tactical aircraft. Bravo.

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— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 2:41 PM

Fighterbomber (russian propaganda blogger connected to aviation) confirms the loss of russian planes in Marinovka.

And whines, which is always nice 🫠

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 4:02 PM

‼️Claim by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU):

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 12:45 PM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron skeets or videos today. Here is some adjacent material.

🐶🇺🇦 I’m a new AFU Combat Team fighter and I’ll be riding here today, on this very spot!

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— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) June 25, 2025 at 10:40 AM

Open thread!