It is important to respond directly to Russia to feel the true price of their actions - the President's appeal to the participants of the European Council meeting
And first it is something small, then something more. There is always the next step. Therefore, we need to act now - cohesive and strongly. I thank all the leaders who already understand the danger and unite the strength. We need to strengthen our defense capabilities, and Ukraine can really help. No country in Europe has more experience than Ukraine in defense against drones and missiles. I think that Europe should create a "wall of drones" as soon as possible.
Drones become a major weapon for armies and for criminal or terrorist groups. This is a fact. And another fact should be our willingness to protect our people and infrastructure. And the faster we all implement the SAFE program, the better. It can really accelerate the realization of the idea of the Wall of Drones. And we need to understand that the Wall of Drones is not just about Ukraine, our neighbors or the eastern flank. It's not just about our borders or our region.
Russian drones and Russian threats are now a real problem for all countries on the banks of the Baltic Sea, which means for all coastal countries in Europe. And this is most of Europe. Today it is drones, tomorrow it can be rockets, the day after tomorrow - new technologies. Who knows. And we all need reliable protection - every country in Europe, that is, all of us together. No country can protect itself.
This is a big mistake, even if only a few still consider, say, "we have no coast" or "we are surrounded by others, so we do not have to act together. " Today, there are no security issues in Europe that would not concern the rest of Europe. And this understanding must unite us. We all need protection, so we all have to work to ensure that the Wall of Drones, security guarantees for Ukraine and other defense measures have really worked.
And this gives us all a good reason for activation and expansion of defense production, for the creation of projects of joint production. What is the most aspired by Russia? For Europe to be divided, argued, had a weak look. This is what Russia counts on. But your support for Ukraine has proven other things over these years - that Europe is much stronger than many expected.
And the fact that we firmly oppose the Russian attacks during this war and rightly strikes when they attack our energy system, proves that Russia is not so strong that we would like to seem. Therefore, we should not be afraid to build our own security models. Security guarantees for Ukraine, as soon as we implement them, will become a model of security for other European countries. And we are ready to be the driving force of this process with you, dear partners.
The same applies to the Walls of Drones. This is all parts of something more, what Europe really needs. It is also very important to respond directly to Russia so that they feel the true price of their actions. We are counting on the rapid adoption of the 19th EU sanctions package. It is almost ready - now only political decisions are needed. I call you all to support him. It will also help our relationship with America and President Trump.
He wants to see that Europe is taking measures against Russia for this war. The decisive actions of Europe will exacerbate the US reaction. It is also very important that Europe restricts the purchase of Russian resources, especially oil. The pressure on Russian oil, tankers and financial systems that provide energy exports weakens Putin and improves President Trump's attitude to cooperate with Europe.
Therefore, those who choose relations with Russia instead of America go against both of Europe and the US. We recently discussed this with the American team, with President Trump. And we sincerely hope that the Hungarians listen to these common signals from us all. We have also discussed the issues of frozen Russian assets, most of which are still not used. These funds should be directed to the defense and restoration of Ukraine.
The tools are already prepared, now they need to be implemented quickly. I also want to thank every country and every leader who support our defense through contributions to the Purl program, defense packages for our military and finance our weapons. This is a very great help. Thank you, partners. I urge countries that have not yet joined Purl, do it. Please join. A few more important points. You all see that we restrain Russian troops on earth. They had big plans for this year.
They wanted to seize more territory. But the Ukrainian military stops them. Even in the most complex areas of Donetsk region, our men and women are steadily defense, hold positions and reject the occupiers. We also strike goals deep in Russia. You have apparently seen reports of significant damage to their fuel facilities. Such decisive actions should be supported by strong political decisions.
Ukraine has completed the internal screening of the legislation for compliance with the EU norms, and we did it faster than anyone to us. We did it qualitatively. We are fully ready for the opening of the cluster1 in the negotiations on membership in the European Union - the cluster "Fundamentals". We need real progress in this matter. And I'm not just talking about Ukraine. Ukraine is fighting the enemy. Moldova clearly confirmed her European choice.