We Have Already Reached Agreements with Partners on Additional Air Defense Systems for Ukraine – Address by the President of Ukraine

8 June 2024 – 20:17

Dear Ukrainians!

A few summaries of the day.
First, the front. Today I spoke with the Commander-in-Chief – overall, about the situation. A significant outcome is that the Russian army has failed to execute their Kharkiv operation. We are currently restraining them to the best of our ability, destroying Russian units that enter our land and terrorize the Kharkiv region. The direction is reinforced. And it will be reinforced even more.

There was also a report on the Donetsk directions, where the situation is the most difficult.

We are also working to ensure more reserves for our army. Now, thanks to negotiations and meetings in France, we have some new solutions for Ukrainian defense – both from France and the United States. Thank you, friends! Progress has also been made in artillery – including the production of 155-caliber shells in Ukraine, and we are preparing a new manufacturing platform. Our combat aviation and electronic warfare capabilities are also being improved. I am grateful to France, and to Emmanuel personally, for his initiative and support for our proposals on the training of our warriors and the provision of brigades. Together, we are preparing a new systematic framework for training units of the Ukrainian Army.

I would also like to commend our units that showed the best performance in combat this week. The Kharkiv direction – the 36th separate marine infantry brigade and the 92nd separate assault brigade. Thank you! In the Donetsk region, I thank all the soldiers and commanders of the 55th separate artillery brigade. Consistently efficient! In addition, based on this week’s results, warriors of the Defense Intelligence, in particular, the “Group 13” unit and the “Shaman” special unit, deserve special mention. Well done! And our warriors of the Security Service of Ukraine – the Center of Special Operations “A”, the Departments of Counterintelligence and Military Counterintelligence. Thank you! Each destroyed unit of Russian equipment, each Russian loss is a contribution to the guarantee of our independence.

And one more thing. We continue to communicate as actively as possible with all our partners. At every level that can be helpful. The first Peace Summit is only a week away. There are also important meetings and negotiations with European leaders ahead – for the sake of our resilience, our protection from Russian terror. We have already reached agreements with partners on additional air defense systems for Ukraine, and some of these decisions will be implemented sooner, while others – closer to the fall. I am grateful to every leader, every state that really provides us with practical support in this regard.

New security agreements for Ukraine are almost ready. Now – these months – is the time for strategic decisions. May has expanded our capabilities on the battlefield, especially at long range. June should strengthen our diplomacy and strategic perspectives – everything that can bring a just peace closer and give more strength to our Ukrainian society. And that’s what it will be.

Glory to Ukraine!

Holland and Denmark:

The Netherlands and Denmark will contribute EUR 400 million in a Swedish fund to build CV 90 infantry fighting vehicles for Ukraine.

The CV 90 IFVs have already proven themselves on the battlefield. They not only effectively destroy the enemy but also save the crew during the… pic.twitter.com/0GQPTSbVwV

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) June 8, 2024

The Netherlands and Denmark will contribute EUR 400 million in a Swedish fund to build CV 90 infantry fighting vehicles for Ukraine.

The CV 90 IFVs have already proven themselves on the battlefield. They not only effectively destroy the enemy but also save the crew during the missions.

We are grateful to our partners for their staunch support. We are working together to achieve a just peace in Ukraine and in whole Europe.
🇺🇦🤝🇳🇱🇩🇰

On our latest #SoupTalk, we had a great discussion with the legendary Ukrainian journalist @IAPonomarenko. There were some technical setbacks during the production, but the video is finally out.

Hope you enjoy it!https://t.co/hHYyM9by3y pic.twitter.com/qPlyPrhYg8

— Pekka Kallioniemi (@P_Kallioniemi) June 8, 2024

Here’s the full video:

For you Yak enthusiasts:

Ukrainian Yak-52 which is used to hunt down Russian reconnaissance UAVs over the southern Ukraine.
Video from a Russian drone. https://t.co/5Ba0xy7cWM pic.twitter.com/99havoXGSf

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) June 8, 2024

And for you drone enthusiasts:

Drone wars. Ukrainian ground drone steals an abandoned machine gun. https://t.co/rM3lvObaqH

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) June 8, 2024

Here’s the machine translation of the original tweet:

By the way, here 23 OSB show the combat work of a drone that transports ammunition and provisions to our positions, to the enemy – TMs, and now also steals machine guns

Well, how can you not support the collection on such Volleys
Was this trans

Novomykhailivka:

Destruction of Russian armour near the village of Novomykhailivka, Donetsk region

The amount of upgrades needed to counter drones on tanks is incredible. pic.twitter.com/3dBwofEksf

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) June 8, 2024

Kharkiv:

The Russian incursion in northern Kharkiv is now one month ongoing and it is time to summarize the intermediate results.

When the Russian offensive started, the Russian advance was initially – at least when compared to the creeping in the east – relatively fast. Vovchans’k was… pic.twitter.com/JO2MSP3nc2

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) June 8, 2024

The Russian incursion in northern Kharkiv is now one month ongoing and it is time to summarize the intermediate results.

When the Russian offensive started, the Russian advance was initially – at least when compared to the creeping in the east – relatively fast. Vovchans’k was obviously their primary target in that sector. Russians were superior in numbers, shells and had absolute freedom to strike Ukrainians from Russian territory, since Western weapons were restricted from being used there.

But the Russian incursion was eventually bogged down. On May 18, Ukrainian missiles hammered several Russian positions in the northern quarters of Vovchans’k. This was also the day when the last Russian advance was recorded in that sector. The development at the western Kharkiv advance was quite similar.

From a tactical point of view, Russians didn’t make any noteworthy gains. Vovchans’k continues to be primarily under Ukrainian control, and in fact Ukrainians have already regained some previously lost parts. The Russian dream to come any closer to Kharkiv City itself in order to position tubed artillery in range of Ukraine’s second largest city, is but only a fever dream. So, even this tactical objective of the Russian army is nowhere near to materialize.

Much more important, however, is the strategic situation. Again, Russians couldn’t break the Ukrainian lines and are now even compelled to defend this area. Far worse are the political implications of that adventure. The biggest Russian miscalculation has been that the West authorized the usage of Western weapons against Russian targets in Russia, not only exposing countless Russian targets but also Russian bluffs when it comes to red lines. I have mentioned this several times, before. It showed the Russian emperor’s new clothes in such an obvious fashion.

There was also the assumption that the Kharkiv incursion was a diversion for operations in the east and, indeed, Russians tried multiple times to advance near Chasiv Yar. But the results there were even smaller than before Kharkiv incursion. The attempted Russian crossing of the Siversky-Donets Canal failed multiple times and the Russian armored spearheads along their manpower were swiftly eliminated. Russians haven’t spent all their cannon fodder there yet, but if Kharkiv was a diversion then this intention failed as well.

All in all, the last 4 weeks, but even more the last 8 months have shown us that even under best fighting conditions Russians perform abysmally low. They have the numbers, the shells, the air planes, their industry completely set for war and, most of all, the Ukrainian shell drought. Yet, despite this huge advantage, the results regarding territorial gains are extremely meager, at best. When nothing changes and when comparing those meager results with the huge resources Russians have allocated and eventually squandered, then we can easily call this a strategic Russian defeat. Seriously, Russians cannot even take Vovchans’k, a city merely 3 miles behind their own border. Just keep this in mind and try not to laugh.

Ukrainians severely degraded Russian manpower and resources. They performed exceptionally well, despite the harsh conditions and in the process exposed Russia’s weakness over and over, again. It is latest episode for the fact that Russia can be defeated.

I’m not sure anyone should take any victory laps yet, especially as Putin is perfectly happy to just bombard Kharkiv and Sumy Oblasts and turn to rubble what he can’t take with Landpower. For now, though, it seems that the ground offensive seems to have stalled.

If you ever wondered why the military has safety stand downs, it’s usually because of stuff like this:

Video tutorial on safe handling of RPG-7 from the Russian military. pic.twitter.com/m9rnuAwH5W

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) June 8, 2024

Mozdok air base, North Ossetia, Russia:

/2. Another video of UAV on its way to Mozdok. Plus map with Mozdok airfield location. pic.twitter.com/ClvB7CZuOV

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) June 8, 2024

Russians report that there was an attempted attack on a Russian military airbase in Mozdok, Caucasus area. It’s known that Russian MiG-31 and Tu-22 are currently based at that airbase.

As claimed by Russians three Ukrainian drones were downed. At that moment there are no information about the damage on the ground.

Approximately 720km from the frontline.

/4. Better quality video of kamikaze drone strike on Russian Mozdok airbase.

(43.7747222, 44.6194722)https://t.co/vSYnhBlmMh pic.twitter.com/PINW90ASlG

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) June 8, 2024

No big surprise here, huh? pic.twitter.com/GPx3sQ9o85

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) June 8, 2024

That’s enough fore tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron tweets or videos. Here’s some adjacent material.

Today’s Ukrainian cats—rescued calico girls Kora and Faya have had enough of this damn war. Being cared for at @AnimalRescueKh. pic.twitter.com/coJHunevtS

— Lorenzo The Cat (@LorenzoTheCat) June 8, 2024

Today’s Ukrainian cats—rescued calico girls Kora and Faya have had enough of this damn war. Being cared for at @AnimalRescueKh. pic.twitter.com/coJHunevtS

— Lorenzo The Cat (@LorenzoTheCat) June 8, 2024

Open thread!