The agreement on Gripens, new sanctions against Russia, expansion of the PURL initiative and increased energy support for Ukraine are the key results of the President's diplomatic work in October

The priorities for the Head of State were: the end of the war, further defense support, increased funding for the production of drones, the development of joint defense industries, the involvement of a larger number of partner states in the PURL initiative, and the effective and mutually beneficial use of the SAFE financial instrument.

Among the key topics of the negotiations is also air defense of Ukraine, in particular, the acceleration of the supply of relevant European and American systems and missiles to them. This was discussed during conversations with the leaders of the USA, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Great Britain and France. Ukraine is counting on concrete results regarding the strengthening of air defense in the near future.

In addition, there are agreements on strengthening the defense of the sky and the air fleet of Ukraine with the Czech Republic and Poland. Constant attention is given to intensifying pressure on Russia, in particular sanctions, to finding opportunities to use frozen Russian assets for the protection and restoration of Ukraine, to adding dynamics to the negotiation process regarding membership in the European Union.

Special emphasis in October was on supporting the Ukrainian energy industry on the eve of winter. After all, the energy system of Ukraine is under constant attacks from the Russian Federation.

Last month, the President of Ukraine paid working visits to Denmark (the seventh summit of the European Political Community), the United States, Norway, Sweden, Brussels (a meeting of the European Council) and Great Britain (a meeting of the leaders of the countries participating in the Coalition of the Willing). One of the main results is the new and largest agreement for the combat aviation of Ukraine.

On the twenty-second of October in Linköping, Sweden, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson signed the first document that paves the way for Ukraine to receive Gripen aircraft - a letter of intent between Ukraine and the Kingdom of Sweden regarding cooperation in the development of air capabilities. Our country expects to receive up to 150 such fighters, and the first should appear next year.

The leaders also held a meeting with the management of Saab AB, the manufacturer of these aircraft, discussed all prospects for cooperation and had the opportunity to personally see the capabilities of the Gripens. "These are very cool planes, strong aviation platforms that enable a wide range of tasks to be performed. Everyone can see what threats it helps against. Russian strikes against our state do not stop," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

During his visit to Washington on October 17, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi met with US President Donald Trump. The main topics of conversation were the situation on the battlefield, energy cooperation, diplomatic prospects for ending the war, strengthening Ukraine's air defense and long-range capabilities. "More than two hours of substantive conversation with US President Donald Trump, which can really bring the end of this war closer. All key issues were discussed.

Russia must stop the aggression that it started and that it is deliberately prolonging. We are counting on US pressure," the Head of State wrote on social networks following the meeting at the White House. Following the meeting, the President also had a joint telephone conversation with the leaders of Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Finland, Norway, Poland, the heads of the European Commission and the European Council, and the Secretary General of NATO.

In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed Ukraine's needs for Patriot systems and missiles for them and F-16 aircraft with representatives of defense companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. With the United States Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and representatives of energy companies, they talked about cooperation in energy projects. The United States has assured assistance in ensuring the stability of the Ukrainian energy system, given the constant shelling by the Russian Federation.

A meeting was also held with the heads of American think tanks. During a meeting in Norway on October 22, Prime Minister Jonas Gar Stere announced the third package of energy aid to Ukraine this year - about 150 million dollars. for purchasing gas in winter. Thus, the total amount of support increased to 400 million dollars. On October 23, the Head of State took part in the meeting of the European Council held in Brussels.

Volodymyr Zelensky also held seven bilateral meetings with partners - with the President of France, the Prime Ministers of Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic, the Federal Chancellor of Germany, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Italy and the President of the European Council.

The main topics of the negotiations are further defense support, in particular through the use of PURL and SAFE mechanisms, strengthening of air defense, energy support, as well as the possibility of using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's needs. According to the results of the meeting of the European Council, the European Union assured that financial assistance to Ukraine will be maintained in 2026-2027.

"There is a political readiness of Europe to direct the frozen Russian assets to the full support of Ukraine, Ukrainians. A political decision was made at the Eurocouncil. A clear format for the use of assets, and this format is. Now we in Europe have agreed that this format should be implemented by the end of the year," said the President of Ukraine. During his visit to Great Britain on October 24, the Head of State held meetings with King Charles III and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

With the head of the British government, special attention was paid to the development of joint defense production, in particular Octopus interceptor drones. Great Britain will manufacture these drones for further testing in Ukraine with the prospect of scaling up production. A meeting of the Coalition of the Willing was also held in London, which was attended by more than 40 participants from different countries. They discussed air defense, energy, sanctions and long-range.

The head of state called for intensifying the finalization of the work on the future framework of security guarantees. The results of the meeting: there will be more sanctions against Russia - there are agreed decisions - and the number of effective long-range sanctions against Ukraine will increase. "Questions about tomahawks, storm shadows, scalps, our joint production of drones and missiles are vital.

And as soon as Putin felt the pressure and the possibility of the appearance of "Tomahawks" in Ukraine, he immediately declared his readiness to resume negotiations, but as soon as the pressure disappeared, he rejected diplomacy again," Volodymyr Zelenskyi emphasized.

On the sidelines of the summit of the European political community in Copenhagen at the beginning of the month, the Head of State held more than 10 meetings with partners - with the presidents of Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Moldova, France, the prime ministers of Denmark, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, the Federal Chancellor of Germany, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Italy, the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, and the Secretary General of NATO.

In October, Volodymyr Zelenskyy held about 20 telephone conversations: with the presidents of the USA (two conversations), Finland (three conversations), France (two conversations), the Czech Republic, Argentina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the prime ministers of Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Canada, Greece, Spain, the Federal Chancellor of Germany, the president of the European Central Bank, and the leader of the party that won the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic.

During the talks, they discussed the coordination of diplomatic steps, the expansion of defense cooperation, in particular the development of the PURL initiative, the strengthening of air defense, the support of the Ukrainian energy industry, and the increase of sanctions pressure on Russia. In addition, in October the President held more than 10 meetings with partners coming to Ukraine.

These are the Prime Ministers of the Netherlands and Lithuania, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Speaker of the Seimas of Lithuania, the ministers of Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Croatia.   During these visits, they discussed defense support and joint production of weapons, the implementation of PURL and SAFE mechanisms, and assistance to the Ukrainian energy sector.

In particular, on October 11, during the visit of the Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, a memorandum on the joint production of drones was signed. In October, the Head of State addressed the participants of the European Council meeting at the beginning of the month and the 71st annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly online.

The President also took part in the third International Forum of Defense Industries in Kyiv and met with heads of international and Ukrainian investment funds and business associations that were participants in this event. "Our potential in the production of drones and missiles alone will be 35 billion dollars next year.

Despite the blows, despite the objective complexity of this very task of building the defense industry - and weapons are a technological product that is not easy to develop, manufacture and implement - despite all the difficulties, Ukrainians are creating their national defense product, which is already ahead of many others in the world in terms of some parameters," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

Among other results achieved last month, one of the most significant is the expansion of the PURL initiative. In October, Spain, Finland and Slovenia joined this program, and Norway announced its second contribution. Thus, the total number of participants increased to 16, and the amount of declared contributions increased to 2. 6 billion dollars. Sanction pressure on the Russian Federation is increasing.

Ukraine has adopted six decisions to impose and extend expiring sanctions against Russian businessmen and their ties to the Putin regime, the Russian military industry, and individuals and companies associated with the Russian oil sector. Our country also synchronized sanctions against Japan in its jurisdiction. In total, since the beginning of the year, 11 packages of partner sanctions have been synchronized in the Ukrainian jurisdiction.

The approved 19th package of sanctions of the European Union contains restrictions against the shadow oil fleet of the Russian Federation, the banking and financial systems, and a ban on the import of Russian LNG. Sanctions against crypto-platforms and crypto-currency schemes were also introduced for the first time. Of particular importance are the US sanctions against the two largest Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, approved in October.

In the same month, Great Britain expanded the sanctions list against Russia, which included, in particular, Rosneft and Lukoil, more than 50 vessels linked to the shadow fleet, a number of banks, four oil terminals, and introduced a ban on the import of petroleum products made in third countries from oil of Russian origin. In total, British sanctions froze Russian assets worth 28. 7 billion pounds.

In the near future, Ukraine will synchronize the 19th package of EU sanctions and US sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil in its jurisdiction. Our country is already preparing new sanctions steps for November and is grateful to all partners who continue to work on increasing the appropriate pressure on the Russian Federation, in particular against the shadow fleet. The formation of the 20th package of EU sanctions has begun, and Ukraine has submitted its proposals.