Zelenskyy in Slavutych: Ukraine capable of responding preventively to threats from Russia, Belarus

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Slavutych, Kyiv region, where he met with heads of communities from Kyiv and Chernihiv regions and stressed the need to strengthen the defense of these northern regions, including fortifications, the border, and the Defense and Security Forces.

"Today I was in Slavutych, in the north of our state. I spoke here today with the heads of communities of the northern regions, Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. It is very important to support our people here and strengthen defense. This is exactly what we are doing," Zelenskyy said in his evening address, published on his Telegram channel.

Zelenskyy said this concerns protective structures, "fortifications and other things, additional strengthening of the border, as well as our Defense and Security Forces, which are on this axis, toward Chernihiv and Kyiv from the territory of our neighbors in Belarus, whom Russia very much wants to drag further into this war, and from Bryansk region."

According to the Ukrainian president, "we have the capacity to strengthen, and we also have the capacity to work preventively regarding Russian territories, from where there may be a threat, and regarding the de facto leadership of Belarus, which must stay alert, that is, really feel that there will be consequences if there are aggressive actions against Ukraine, against our people."

"We remember that in 2022, the offensive also came from the territory of Belarus. We will not forget this. Ukraine’s Defense Forces, Security Forces and our intelligence agencies know what the threats are and how to respond, and to respond fairly, of course," Zelenskyy said.