Ukraine seeks peace, but if Russia continues the war and strikes Ukraine, there will be retaliatory strikes. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this in a comment to journalists, UNN reports.
He called today's strikes on Moscow an absolutely fair response.
"As for our response, which is absolutely fair, regarding Moscow. You can all see that despite the three rings of air defense in Moscow, we said we would reach them. If Putin does not want to end this war and wants to continue it, we will not sit quietly; we will respond. The response must be strong and fair. They struck the Lavra. During our meeting with journalists, we were at the Lavra. I said quite frankly that we would prepare a response, and you would see it. I think you are seeing it. We do not want this war and never have. Everyone knows this, and our partners know it. And we certainly do not want Ukraine to burn because of the enemy. But if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn too,"
The President emphasized that all partners know Ukraine supports the idea of ending the war, while Putin is doing everything to avoid directly answering questions about a ceasefire and ending the war.
"Therefore, I believe we must increase the pressure. Certainly, I am talking about pressure of various kinds. This includes not only Ukraine's long-range sanctions but also partner sanctions on energy. The shadow fleet, energy, oil, gas, the banking system, weapons, the defense industry. Everything possible so that Russia feels there is no point in fighting. The main thing is for the people of Russia to start feeling that one person, Putin, is fighting, but the people are paying for everything. And therefore, in my opinion, everyone needs to put pressure on Putin. Ukrainians need to press, absolutely all Europeans, Americans, and well, Russians—it's time to sober up and put pressure on your leader," President Zelenskyy believes.
As a reminder
On the night of June 18, 2026, units of the Defense Forces in the Moscow region of the Russian Federation repeatedly struck the Moscow Oil Refinery. Obviously, this was a response to the strike, in particular, on the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, which Russia carried out during a massive attack on Kyiv on June 15.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the strikes on the Moscow refinery and in the Rostov region. Footage appeared online showing Ukrainian FP-1 drones, manufactured by the Ukrainian company Fire Point, over the Russian capital, which the "Pantsir" system unsuccessfully attempted to shoot down. This is already the second strike on the Moscow refinery.