“Our main goal is not a Russia without gasoline, but a Ukraine without Russia, a Ukraine without war, a Ukraine with Europe.” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it in Kyiv on July 15, at the city’s Statehood Day celebrations, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen standing among the guests.
Leaders from Romania, Moldova and Croatia were there too, according to LIGA.net. The ceremony took place in St Michael’s Square, and Zelenskyy used it to answer a question that hangs over every peace discussion: what is Ukraine fighting to achieve? Weakening Russia is not the answer he gave. Kyiv Post summarized his message as lasting peace and European integration.
Reach and numbers
The speech was also a progress report. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces now field long-range missiles with real operational capacity, and he pointed to the 2,884-kilometer distance to Russia’s Omsk Oil Refinery as a milestone. Kyiv Post put the reach of Ukraine’s long-range weapons at nearly 2,900 kilometers.
Drones got the most space. Zelenskyy recalled an earlier pledge of one million drones a year. Ukraine can now build 10 million annually, he said, and he wants to reach 20 million with partners. He described “half a thousand of our drones a day” striking dozens of refineries, shadow fleet tankers and military installations. “There are no longer any locations within the territory of evil that are beyond the reach of Ukrainian justice,” he said.
He also announced the FREYJA project, a joint European shield against ballistic missiles, and said Ukraine is on its way to becoming only the third country licensed to manufacture Patriot missiles.
A new order, a new deal
Zelenskyy handed von der Leyen the first Order of Europe, a newly created Ukrainian award. The same day she signed what Brussels Signal called a “drone deal,” meant to pair Ukrainian battlefield knowledge with the industrial capacity of European manufacturers. “This deal will bring together Ukrainian ingenuity and Europe’s industrial scale,” she said.
The terms are specific. The two sides agreed to promote joint production of drones and counter-drone systems by the end of 2026, with cooperation on anti-ballistic missiles to follow by 2028. Eighteen founding members are due to meet in Brussels in September. The Commission released a further €1 billion for Ukrainian drone procurement the same day.
For von der Leyen it was her 11th trip to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began. Kyiv has signed nine drone agreements with individual countries; this was the first meant to cover companies across the whole bloc.
Zelenskyy’s line about gasoline carried a contrast he drew himself. Ukrainian strikes, he argued, hit military infrastructure, while Russian attacks fall on civilian areas.
Sources
- Zelenskyy Congratulated the Nation on Statehood Day: Key Points of the Address (LIGA.net)
- Von der Leyen signs EU-Ukraine 'drone deal' on Kyiv visit (Brussels Signal)
- We Don't Want Russia Without Fuel, We Want Ukraine Without War (Kyiv Post)
