President’s Speech at the Fifth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen

12 September 2025 – 10:27

Thank you very much!

Glory to Ukraine!

Olena,

All the participants of the Summit,

Our guests – the First Ladies and Gentlemen from Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Serbia, and Germany,

Dear Alex,

Thank you so much! Thank you very much for your support, for your participation.

Above all, thank you for being with Ukraine and in Ukraine, and for the fact that all of this – our Fifth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen – is taking place, and it is important that it is taking place, despite everything, despite the air raid alerts and threats. The Summit is dedicated to what matters most – to what must indeed prevail in this war. Of course, independence. Of course, our sovereign state. Of course, our extraordinarily brave people. But all of this is united by humanity. That’s what it is. Humanity must prevail.

Sometimes we hear from politicians – and the further they are from the real situation, the more confident they sound – that what divides Ukraine and Russia most of all is the issue of territory. As if that were the key issue in the war. Of course, we are fighting for our land, we are defending our sovereign territory, and that is absolutely just. But we must look at what Russia actually brings to our land. And it is always striking: the closer Russia gets, the less life there is, any kind of life – there are simply fewer people, fewer things related to people, fewer things that make people happy. And always, the closer Russia gets, the more lives are destroyed, sadly, the more traces of life that once was but has now become ruins. The territories of ours that Russia has seized, our lands, often become simply depopulated. Even Donetsk – once one of the richest, strongest cities in Ukraine – the Russians have managed to bring to a state where living there normally is simply impossible. And all of this is not only about Ukraine.

Over the course of the XX century, the Moscow state took control of different territories, and everywhere one can make the very same comparison: what it is like there, in Russia or under Russian control, and what it is like with their neighbors. Right next door – yet entirely, completely different. For example, Karelia and Finland. The “Kaliningrad Oblast” and the voivodeships of Poland or the lands of Germany. We see how different everything is in Belarus compared with Lithuania. How different everything we do on our land is from what Russia does on our temporarily occupied territory. From all of this it is clear that the dividing line between us and Russia is precisely the attitude toward people, which determines everything else. Either humanity matters, and life is built on that very foundation, or only one person matters, the one who decides everything – and accordingly, for others, there is no normal life. This is what Russia brings. And the man who leads it.

And what will come after this man?

The theme of the Summit is education. And not just the education system, but the belief that education can protect humanity, prevent wars, and strengthen peace. Is this really possible?

All of us can find information about Putin’s teachers. Russian propagandists often liked to show his German teacher. An experienced person, clearly proud of her student. She taught Putin German – but she could not teach him to be European. Putin graduated from Leningrad University with a degree in law. But how could this “lawyer” rule Russia in such a way that he ended up under an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court? And for what – for the abduction of Ukrainian children. We know that Putin gained his basic notions of morality in a sports club – from his coach. And he was not just a judo coach, but more of a coach in the criminal code of conduct – in the corresponding attitude toward life and other people. This was Putin’s coach. But then how did it happen that millions of Russians, who did not have such a coach, have a similar mindset to their ruler?
We are dealing with something far deeper than the biography of one man or the politics of one killer. We are dealing with something rooted in Russia’s culture – something that inevitably drives it to war. Which of Russia’s neighbors has it not yet fought with? All of them. Even China they once tried to humiliate and colonize – there was a time when they tried to take over Manchuria and other territories of China. Can Russian schoolchildren or students today learn, in the course of their education, about this true history of Russia? Of course not. Russia’s political dishonesty is largely built on its academic dishonesty – on the dishonesty of those who teach its children. There have been numerous wars of conquest in Russia’s history, but has Russia ever apologized for even one of them? Of course not. No apologies. Instead, Russia’s confidence that new wars will go unpunished is based in particular on the examples like the one we see now in Georgia, where, regrettably, the behavior of those in power and their treatment of political opponents resembles Russian rule more than European governance. And is criminal disregard for life no longer in favor in Russia? On the contrary – they cultivate it. And we see at the front that the code of criminals in the Russian army matters more than the statutes of the Russian armed forces. And this is not only about the “Wagner” units – it is about many other Russian units. About how they shoot their own men when they try to leave the battlefield. About how they throw people into pits when they try to defend their rights. About how they loot their own, abuse civilians, and torture prisoners.

This is what lies in Russia’s culture – what breeds “putins,” what teaches them to despise people and humanity – and this continues to exist and even to grow stronger. That is why it is so difficult to reach an agreement with Russia on peace. That is why trade with Russia, economic cooperation, or any joint projects will not help deter Russia from war, but will only give it money for a new one. This is how Russia educates its people – in schools, in sports clubs, in universities, but also, sadly, in many families and through products of mass culture. And this is a major lesson for all of us – for those who want protection from Russia and guaranteed security for our children. As long as Russian schools do not teach humanity, agreements with Russia will not work. As long as Russian universities can count international criminals among their distinguished graduates, all of us – Russia’s neighbors – must take care of our security. And if Russia continues in this way, we must all think about how to continue limiting its influence on our countries, on our economies, on our culture, on our media, on our education – on our children. That is why, when we talk about isolating Russia for the war, we are speaking of much more than sanctions alone. We are in fact speaking of self-defense – of preserving people and humanity in our countries.

We need family policies and support for families in our countries that would give parents greater opportunities to see how their children are growing up and what their lives revolve around. We need far more connections between countries not only at the level of politics, but also at the level of communities, at the level of our people. And this includes school exchanges and opportunities for students. We must pay attention to everything – from the content children watch to cooperation at the university level, if it involves the academic environment or any other environment in Russia. That is, people who have not found the strength to condemn this war of aggression, even though they have all the information, all the truth about it. We must be modern in advancing truthful historical knowledge. Russia is modern in advancing propaganda, and we must respond not only with textbooks but also with mass culture. Yesterday, by the way, I had a meeting with the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Minister of Finance, and our team in the cultural sphere, and we spoke in particular about this – about creating content. Thousands upon thousands of hours of content that must be an alternative to Russian content. This is the task of every country – to consciously support its culture, its education, its families. And to do so on the basis of respect for people, for the human, for humanity.

My first teacher was in Mongolia. My father worked there, and that’s where I went to school, to the first grade. We were very different children in the class, completely different, from different corners of the world: from Mongolia, from Buryatia, from Ukraine, from other countries. The very first thing the teacher taught us was to be together – to be side by side, to accept and respect each other. To talk to each other. So that we, as children, could coexist without conflict, in peace. And in my view, she succeeded. It is important for our countries to always succeed in this. No matter how different children are, they must learn to be Europeans.

I studied at university and got a degree in law. I was not particularly eager to become a lawyer. But it turned out that jurisprudence nevertheless appeared in my life. And many important laws and decrees today, state regulations, various procedures, work with partners, international organizations and institutions. And among other things, we did manage to bring the Russian leader under an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. He deserved it. And it is important that this works in our countries – the inevitability of punishment, the sense of justice, and therefore proper legal education. So that we are different from the “specialists” of Leningrad University.

Maybe this is too much about myself, but still… My father is a Master of Sports and a Doctor of Technical Sciences. He is a professor, a university lecturer. He has devoted his whole life to education. He always tells me: knowledge is very important, but degrees are not. Even though he himself has both titles and degrees. I have done sports all my life. I did not become a Master of Sports, but it helps me a lot – especially now, when the ability to be disciplined means the ability to be effective. And many issues have to be studied very carefully, especially when it comes to security and weapons. Often Ukraine’s knowledge of the availability of certain weapons among our partners is better than that of the partners themselves. And this is what helps us endure for so long in the full-scale war. In Ukraine, we hold on because millions of our people know how to do something better than others. They know what self-discipline is. They know that knowledge wins. They learned this at home. They learned this in school. They learned this at university. Many – at sports clubs, but the kind that are truly about sport, not about criminal code of conduct. In the end, we must prevail both in the field of law and in the field of culture – and therefore in the field of education – in order to maintain our advantage in the sphere of security. And it is important that we see this challenge in the same way – all of us, different, yet the same: humanity must prevail.

Thank you. 

Glory to Ukraine!

Here is First Lady Zelenska’s address at the same summit. Video followed by English transcript.

Education Can Be the Answer to Many of Today’s Challenges and Threats – Olena Zelenska at the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen

12 September 2025 – 17:55

At the initiative of the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, the Fifth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen was held in Kyiv. For the first time, the event lasted two days, marking the largest gathering in the Summit’s history.

This year’s theme was “Education Shaping the World”. The Summit was dedicated to the role of education as the foundation of peace, sustainable development, equality, and cooperation. The focus was on four key areas: access to education as a fundamental right regardless of circumstances, including during wartime; technology and innovation with an emphasis on their ethical use; the role of education in promoting peace and humanitarian values; teaching as a vocation and a profession that shapes generations.

The First Lady of Ukraine noted that the Summit participants discussed both school lessons in the literal sense and the lessons of life that Ukrainians are forced to endure.

“The main lesson is that human rights, which seem so obvious, protected, and fundamental, are not a given. They must be fought for and defended. The right to education, the right simply to go to school, to enter a university, to develop – we now also have to defend these every day, physically,” Olena Zelenska stressed.

For instance, in Ukraine, schools are currently being built in shelters so that, even during the war, children can learn safely, and teachers can continue to teach.

Moreover, the world faces the danger of knowledge gaps, which can be filled with disinformation and manipulative narratives. That is why developing critical thinking is so important.

“A limited worldview usually goes hand in hand with hostility and aggression. In contrast, broad awareness tends to foster people who are tolerant, empathetic, and ready to listen and understand others. There is hope that if education succeeds, we will not need to look for ways to overcome conflicts,” the First Lady noted.

The President’s wife expressed her gratitude for their personal participation in the Summit to the First Lady of Austria, Doris Schmidauer; the First Gentleman of Denmark, Bo Tengberg; the First Lady of Estonia, Sirje Karis; the First Lady of Lithuania, Diana Nausėdienė; the First Lady of Germany, Elke Büdenbender; the First Lady of Serbia, Tamara Vučić; and the First Lady of Finland, Suzanne Innes-Stubb.

In addition, First Ladies from Belize, Guatemala, Israel, Türkiye, Poland and Sweden, as well as the First Gentleman of Slovenia, joined the event online. Queen Silvia of Sweden and the spouse of the Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshiko Ishiba, also conveyed their support. Altogether, First Ladies and Gentlemen from 17 countries took part in the Fifth Summit.

The Anniversary Summit was a special one, significantly expanding both the program and the geography of participants. Ukraine hosted Ministers of Education and their deputies from Austria, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Estonia, and Denmark. The Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen also welcomed distinguished teachers from different countries: Kenya, Brazil, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, Canada, and Ukraine. Altogether, representatives of 20 countries participated in the Fifth Summit.

The event featured a series of discussion panels. The panel on “Access to Education” consisted of two parts. The first panel discussion, “Education as a Global Marker of Equality. Lessons from the Past,” brought together Ukraine’s Minister of Education and Science, Oksen Lisovyi; Germany’s First Lady, Elke Büdenbender; Lithuania’s First Lady, Diana Nausėdienė; UNICEF’s Global Director for Education and Adolescent Development, Pia Rebello Britto; and Global Partnership for Education Regional Manager, Marco Mantovanelli. The conversation focused on uniting international education leaders to draw attention to the global challenge of access to education. The discussion was moderated by Sarah Brown, Chair of Theirworld and Executive Chair of the Global Business Coalition for Education.

The panel opened with a TED-style talk by Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The second part of the panel focused on changes in the global education landscape: increased state responsibility, uncertainty about the future, and opportunities to shape new rules of collaboration. The discussion featured the First Ladies of Austria and Serbia; Austria’s Minister of Education, Christoph Wiederkehr; CEO of the International Finance Facility for Education, Karthik Krishnan; and CEO of the Education Outcomes Fund, Amel Karboul.

The second panel was entitled “Innovation in Education: From Crisis to Transformation”. Participants explored ways for artificial intelligence to foster learning and deepen understanding, rather than work against it. They discussed digital literacy, lifelong learning and personal development opportunities, enabled by technology, with contributions from the First Ladies of Estonia and Finland; Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov; Minister for Higher Education and Science of Denmark, Christina Egelund; Chief Executive of the British Council, Scott McDonald; President of the East Europe Foundation, Victor Liakh; Partner at SkillLab and Managing Director of Just Skills Hub, Simon Schmid; CEO of Cisco Ukraine, Sergii Martynchuk; British biochemist and Nobel Prize Laureate, former President of Rockefeller University Paul Nurse; and CEO of Becoming X, Paul Gurney.

Within the Innovation Strategy, Valeriya Ionan presented the WINWIN EdTech Centre of Excellence, while Esther Wojcicki, the “Godmother of Silicon Valley”, shared her visionary insights.

The concluding part focused on how education fosters peace and promotes humanitarian values. In particular, this was addressed in personal messages to the Summit participants by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of Finland Alexander Stubb.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine is fighting the Russian aggressor not only for its land but also in defense of universal human values.

“The Summit is dedicated to what matters most – to what must truly prevail in this war. Of course, independence. Of course, our sovereign state. Of course, our extraordinarily brave people. But all of this is united by humanity. That is what it comes down to. Humanity must prevail,” the Head of State said.

“I believe that education is the foundation of all civilizations. We were among the first countries in the world to achieve one hundred percent literacy. In many ways, this was about survival. Because the truth is that education makes us who we are,” noted the President of Finland.

Alexander Stubb also drew attention to the fact that Russia is now using history as a weapon. He stressed that this is a country unable to come to terms with its past or even to look at it critically.

The Summit also featured the presentation of the international research findings “Education as a Tool for Shaping Personal Resilience, National Social Capital, and a Culture of Peace”, alongside the Gala Tribute to Teachers, which honored educators from around the world for their contributions to the global development of education.

As part of their participation, the First Ladies of Austria, Germany, Serbia, and Finland visited schools and kindergartens in Kyiv and the region, where they met with children, their teachers, and educators. The distinguished guests also delivered public lectures at several Ukrainian universities, the National Art Museum, and the National Academy of Sciences. In particular, in Kyiv, addresses were made by the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb; the First Gentleman of Denmark, Bo Tengberg; the First Lady of Estonia, Sirje Karis; and the First Lady of Lithuania, Diana Nausėdienė.

In addition, lectures were delivered by leading academics and researchers, including Nobel Prize laureates: Sir Paul Nurse (UK, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2001), Shirin Ebadi (Iran, Nobel Peace Prize, 2003), and Wided Bouchamaoui (Tunisia, Nobel Peace Prize, 2015).

About the Summit

The Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen is an annual international event initiated by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, in 2021. Since then, the Summit has grown into the Global Platform operating on a permanent basis.

The Global Platform of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen is a community that unites the spouses of heads of state who seek to use their influence to address global challenges.

The results and achievements of previous Summits can be accessed at the following link:

Thanks to the 2022 Summit, more than 6 million US dollars were raised to purchase 92 ambulances. In 2023, on the margins of the event, a unique medical partnership was launched, within which Ukrainian and foreign hospitals have already signed more than 60 memoranda of cooperation.

Last year, the Summit delivered a practical outcome in the form of a joint declaration aimed at uniting the efforts of the First Ladies and Gentlemen to protect children’s rights during armed conflicts and wars, as well as the development of an expert document to implement the declaration. This document was presented at a special event during the 79th session of the UN General Assembly.

The Fifth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen was co-organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Fund of the President of Ukraine for the support of Education, Science, and Sports, UNICEF, Osvitoria, and the British Embassy in Ukraine.

General Partners: BGV Charity Fund, Universal Bank.

Official Partners: Activitis Education, Ajax Systems.

Partners: Vodafone, La Famiglia catering, Yalta European Strategy.

Information Partners: United24 Media, Starlight Media

Georgia:

Maggie is out on bail.

[image or embed]

— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 10:08 AM

[image or embed]

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 3:39 AM

Despite clear video evidence, the MIA says the two men who attacked protesters on Sep 8–9 will be released—because victims’ testimonies were deemed “insufficient.” One of the attackers is in this video.

📸 Formula

[image or embed]

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 4:24 AM

Russian activist Anastasia Zinovkina, just sentenced to 8y6m in Georgia with Artem Gribul on trumped-up drug charges, urges the world: support the youth on Rustaveli, save Georgia’s future. She’s starting a hunger strike, demanding to free the other two Russian political prisoners.

[image or embed]

— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 8:19 AM

seems like the regime will link the “October 4 peaceful revolution” drive of various groups, including the now-jailed UNM politician Levan Khabeishvili, to Ukraine and the SBU.

I can already imagine them saying: “Ukraine was orchestrating a bloody coup in Georgia.”

[image or embed]

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 8:02 AM

On top of it, what they are saying is that Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey passed these explosives unrestricted – and the GD is the most badass security apparatus to have exposed it all 🤡

(I had to post this again because the original post was deleted. And in the meantime, new stuff emerged).

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 10:34 AM

The regime included Bacho Akhalaia in the “Ukrainian explosives from SBU” and “the capture of the Parliament” on October 4 plot.

Akhalaia was one of the most negatively perceived figures of the UNM era, and the GD wants to capitalize on “if we leave, it’s them again” once more. 1/2

[image or embed]

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 11:12 AM

The public is well beyond those tricks, I believe, but it’s annoying if they manage to hinder something even a little bit. Let’s see. 2/2.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 11:12 AM

🟥Citing the proverb “If the heart desires, the kada (a festive sweet bread) is eaten with both hands,” Shalva Papuashvili said “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” — arguing @odihr.pl could have observed #GEOLocalElections2025 despite its refusal over the late invitation.

#Georgia

[image or embed]

— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) September 12, 2025 at 6:24 AM

Poland:

🇵🇱Poland will expand military cooperation with Ukraine, with part of the EU funds allocated to Poland’s defense industry directed to joint defense projects with Ukraine, — as per Polish FM Sikorski. suspilne.media/1113786-siko…

[image or embed]

— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 5:12 PM

🇵🇱 Poland closed all border crossings with Belarus overnight on Sept. 12. The closure of the borders is directly related to the upcoming Russian-Belarusian military exercises in Belarus.

[image or embed]

— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 5:18 AM

The US:

❤️‍🩹👇

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 1:33 PM

Back to Ukraine.

The russian drones don’t breach sovereign borders “by error.”

They do it with cold calculation — to probe red lines and measure how much theft the world will tolerate in each particular case.

— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 4:09 AM

Thousands of mercenaries are known to be fighting for Russia, but little else is publicly known. Our team at Frontelligence Insight holds exclusive lists with thousands of records, including their names, units, and home countries. In the coming days, we will release this data, broken down by country

— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 10:04 AM

⚡️Update: Drones target Moscow, Russian oil facilities in reported large-scale Ukrainian strike.

Explosions have been reported near Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Smolensk, and the Pulkovo Airport was shut down due to the threat of drones.

[image or embed]

— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) September 11, 2025 at 9:12 PM

From The Kyiv Independent:

Editor’s note: The story was updated with a statement by an SBU source.

Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) drones struck Primorsk, Russia’s largest oil-loading port on the Baltic Sea, overnight on Sept. 12, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent.

Primorsk in Leningrad Oblast serves as a key hub for Russia’s “shadow fleet” of aging tankers used to avoid sanctions, the source said. Roughly 60 million tons of oil pass through the port every year, bringing Russia roughly $15 billion, the source added.

After the Ukrainian drone strike, fires broke out at one of the vessels and a pumping station, forcing the suspension of oil shipments, according to the source. This could allegedly cost Russia up to $41 million a day.

SBU drones also successfully struck three oil pumping stations that are part of a pipeline system funneling crude to the Ust-Luga port terminal in Leningrad Oblast, the source claimed.

Primorsk lies roughly 100 kilometers (60 miles) from St. Petersburg and over 900 kilometers (550 miles) north of the Ukrainian border.

The statement comes after Russian officials and media reported a large-scale drone attack targeting Leningrad Oblast, Moscow, and other areas overnight on Sept. 12.

Russian air defenses intercepted 221 Ukrainian drones across the country, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed the morning after the strike.

Residents of Leningrad Oblast reportedly said the attack was one of the most massive strikes on the region since the start of the full-scale war in 2022.

Around 30 drones were shot down over Leningrad Oblast, regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko said.

Drone debris crashed at separate locations in Tosno, a town 53 kilometers (33 miles) southwest of St. Petersburg, but caused no casualties or damage, he claimed. Fragments and wreckage also landed in other villages in the region, including Vsevolozhsk, Pokrovskoye, and Uzmino.

Earlier in the night, Drozdenko said that air defenses were at work over the Pushkinsky district of St. Petersburg.

The attack caused a fire on a vessel in the Primorsk Port, Drozdenko reported. He claimed the fire was extinguished and that there is no threat of flooding or oil spills.

Drozdenko later reported that the attack caused a fire to break out at a pumping station in Primorsk. He said it was extinguished without casualties.

The drone threat in the region forced St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport to shut down — an increasingly common procedure amid intensifying Ukrainian drone strikes. Nearly 50 flights have been disrupted or canceled due to the closure.

Drones also targeted the Russian capital. At least nine Ukrainian drones have been shot down near Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said.

Sobyanin said on Telegram that emergency crews were headed to the site where the drone debris fell. The mayor did not provide details as to where the drones were shot down or provide information on any damage.

Russian Telegram channels, citing resident accounts, reported explosions in the communities of Mozhaysk and Dedovsk in Moscow Oblast, located just west of the outskirts of the capital.

Another wave of drones attacked the Russian city of Smolensk, according to officials and local residents. Smolensk Oblast Governor Vasily Anokhin said air defense units were repelling a drone attack over the region, but gave no further information.

Smolensk residents reported explosions in the city. In footage posted to social media, eyewitnesses claimed that the drones targeted a nearby Lukoil facility. Video shows smoke and flames rising from a large fire at an undisclosed site.

Anokhin did not mention oil facilities or any possible targets in his report.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that 85 drones were downed over Bryansk Oblast, 42 over Smolensk Oblast, 28 over Leningrad Oblast, 18 over Kaluga Oblast, 14 over Novgorod Oblast, and nine over the Moscow and Oryol oblasts.

Drones were also shot down over Belgorod, Rostov, Tver, Pskov, Tula, and Kursk oblasts, the ministry said.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.

More at the link.

Kyiv:

Prince Harry has arrived in Kyiv.

[image or embed]

— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 2:30 AM

No no it’s actually wild that me and my friends have to check if Kellogg is in Kyiv for another night and wether we should pack for the bomb shelter sleepover

— Mira of Kyiv 🇺🇦 (@reshetz.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 3:18 PM

My favorite yankee human shield

— Mira of Kyiv 🇺🇦 (@reshetz.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 3:19 PM

Prince Harry, General Kellogg, and Sikorsky walk into a bar in Kyiv and Kyivans finally had a normal night of sleep without air raids

[image or embed]

— Mira of Kyiv 🇺🇦 (@reshetz.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 8:01 AM

Just lock them here until Zapad is over I’m begging

— Mira of Kyiv 🇺🇦 (@reshetz.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 8:03 AM

Kharkiv:

On September 12, 2008, Queen launched their European tour with a massive open-air concert in Kharkiv, drawing a crowd of 350,000 to Freedom Square 🇺🇦

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 10:20 AM

This Freedom Square

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 10:20 AM

Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast:

🇺🇦 The situation is worsening in Kramatorsk, target of daily Russian strikes against civilian infrastructure.

This video shows an attack on September 10th against one of the city’s bazars, I know it well.

It has a post office, various shops mostly visited by locals & often elderly people.

[image or embed]

— Emmanuelle Chaze (@emmanuellechaze.com) September 12, 2025 at 6:31 AM

Zaporizhzhia Oblast:

🥖🇫🇷Everyone’s a gangsta until the French baguette comes crashing through the window.

[image or embed]

— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 8:48 AM

Leningrad Oblast, Russia:

Russian Primorsk 🔥

Last night, drones from the Security Service of Ukraine struck Russia’s largest oil port on the Baltic Sea, which serves as the final destination for the Baltic Pipeline System. The port of Primorsk is a key hub for loading Russia’s “shadow fleet.”

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 7:46 AM

(Reuters) – Oil loadings from Primorsk were suspended early on Friday following the Ukrainian drone attack.

Two tankers with a capacity of 700,000 barrels each, Kusto and Cai Yun, caught fire in the port. Both Kusto and Cai Yun belong to the Russian “shadow fleet”

[image or embed]

— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 5:48 PM

2/. /2. Information regarding targeted Russian shadow fleet vessels:

Cai Yun – war-sanctions.gur.gov.ua/en/transport…

Kusto – war-sanctions.gur.gov.ua/en/transport…

[image or embed]

— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 5:50 PM

Vladimir Oblast, Russia:

⚡️ Analyzing the video of the strike on Vtorovo NPS, we came to the conclusion that “Lyutyi” UAV was recorded hitting the technological overpass on which pipelines, signal and power cables are mounted, – CyberBoroshno

▪️The station is an intermediate pumping station on route Vtorovo → Tuma → Ryazan

[image or embed]

— MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 7:51 AM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

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

DEER OF WAR:

Today’s Deer of War is this cutie, which Tania’s boyfriend spotted in a Kyiv forest while taking FPV-drone control courses.

[image or embed]

— Tim Mak (@timkmak.bsky.social) September 10, 2025 at 9:28 AM

Open thread!