Distinguished President of Ukraine, esteemed President of the Republic of Serbia, honored members of both delegations, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the ceremony of signing the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia and the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection on cooperation in the field of animal health and food safety. / Вельми шановний пане президенте України, вельми шановний пане президенте Республіки Сербія, шановні члени делегації, пані та панове, вітаємо вас на церемонії підписання меморандуму про взаєморозуміння між Міністерством сільського господарства, лісового господарства та водного господарства Республіки Сербія та Державною службою України з питань безпечності харчових продуктів та захисту споживачів щодо співробітництва у сфері здоров'я тварин та безпечності харчових продуктів.
I invite the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Dragan Glamočić, and His Excellency the Ambassador of Ukraine to Belgrade, Mr. Oleksandr Litiwinenko, to approach for the signing. / Запрошую міністра сільського господарства, лісового господарства та водного господарства Республіки Сербія пана Драгана Гламочича та надзвичайного і повноважного посла України в Республіці Сербія пана Олександра Литвиненка до підписання меморандуму.
Today's signing ceremony is now concluded. I invite the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, to address us. Mr. President, the floor is yours. / На цьому церемонію підписання завершено. Дякую.
Esteemed President Zelenskyy, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great honor and pleasure for us to host the President of Ukraine today in Belgrade, and yesterday as well. This is the first visit by a President of Ukraine in eight years, and I am very happy that we had the opportunity to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, a friendly country. I believe that everything we discussed regarding the advancement of our bilateral relations in all areas of social life will be reflected after the meetings we had yesterday and today.
We talked about various topics. What I think is most important is that Serbia, and I as its president, emphasized that we support the Charter of the United Nations, the United Nations resolution, which means the territorial integrity of all UN member states, which also means the territorial integrity of Ukraine. And so I am very grateful that Ukraine supports the territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia, and that we will continue to pursue such principled policy. On this issue, there is no ambiguity whatsoever — it is very precisely, clearly, and decisively stated.
We discussed the European path of Serbia and Ukraine. As far as Serbia is concerned, Ukraine will always have the full support of our country on its European path. We do not make any comments in which we try to stop anyone because we cannot open some cluster. We wish for Ukraine to open all clusters as quickly as possible and to close them as quickly as possible. This is the wish of the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian leadership, and as far as we are concerned, we have never had nor will we have any problem with that in the future. Quite the contrary, everything we can do to help Ukraine on its European path, we will do.
We have significantly raised the level of trade exchange between our countries. Last year it amounted to around 450 million US dollars. Already this year, in the first six months, it is significantly higher at around 321 million US dollars. I believe that the most significant import product from Ukraine is iron ore. I believe that through cooperation in agriculture, but also energy and all other fields, this trade exchange can be much greater.
We also discussed joint projects in infrastructure, the engagement of Ukrainian companies on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, and I believe we can achieve good and very significant results in the future. When I say this, I was truly fascinated by the railway network that Ukraine has. Recently, when I visited Kyiv, I believe there is much we can learn from Ukraine on this matter, from their state companies, and that together we can work on improving our network in Serbia.
We discussed different forms and levels of humanitarian aid. With everything we have done so far, you can always do more, and I believe our Ukrainian friends will be somewhat more satisfied in the future. We have already allocated significant aid in medicines. I believe that in the energy sector as well, and the various equipment that Ukraine needs, especially for the winter period, we will help as much as we can.
I also want to say that I am grateful to the Ukrainian president for the support he always provides to Serbia on its European path. I must say, for the citizens of Serbia, you have never heard from Volodymyr Zelenskyy or anyone else a single bad word about our country. I am extremely grateful to our Ukrainian friends for that, and I believe that in the coming period, in mining, energy, and especially in agriculture, we can achieve significant results.
It is important for us when we not only import iron ore but also commercial soybean and soybean meal, flaxseed, or when we export fruit seedlings, sunflower seeds, and baby food — to raise that level of cooperation to the highest possible level.
Last but not least, I expressed the hope that after the end of the war, I believe our cooperation will be much stronger and greater. On the foreign policy front, we can jointly export certain things and appear on third markets, particularly on the African and Asian continents. I believe we have important conversations ahead of us in the future, where we can additionally agree on such forms of cooperation.
We had a long conversation last night. Today we had a very good conversation. I am grateful to President Zelenskyy for dedicating his time to Serbia. I hope we were good hosts, and I believe that our future meetings will be even more frequent than they have been so far. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. President. I invite the President of Ukraine, Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to address us. Mr. President.
Thank you very much, Mr. President. Esteemed journalists. Aleksandar, your team, and dear Serbia — I want to thank you for your respect for us, for Ukraine, for your respect and hospitality, support for our people, first and foremost support for our state, our independence, and territorial integrity. We value this very much.
The situation in Ukraine is not simple. Last night there was another missile strike — ballistic missiles against our infrastructure. There were also strike drones, specifically Shahed-type drones. Again targeting energy facilities and our railways. Trains are delayed across the entire country. There were also strikes against civilian enterprises. The elimination of the consequences of the strikes is still ongoing. Fires are being extinguished.
In the morning I received a report. Shelling also occurred in all frontline communities. Unfortunately, 13 people were killed from these strikes across Ukraine in just 24 hours — from 9 AM yesterday to 9 AM today. This is indeed a terrible tragedy — the tragedy of Russian aggression against independent Ukraine. My condolences to all their families and loved ones. 77 people were wounded in our regions. 12 oblasts were under strikes. Practically every night, every day. For five years now, we in Ukraine have been forced to go through all these strikes.
Russian strikes are directed predominantly against facilities that work for the life of the people. We practically have no undamaged power stations left, many train stations, destroyed hospitals, universities, and ordinary civilian enterprises. During such a war, we value and are very grateful for all the support Ukraine receives from other countries, from other peoples. And of course, we develop all formats of cooperation that can give our people, our cities, our communities more resilience, more capacity to withstand all the challenges of war.
We are grateful that there will be a new package of humanitarian support from Serbia for Ukraine, particularly in medicine and energy. This is very important for us. Thank you, Mr. President.
Yesterday evening and today, with the President, we talked about our bilateral cooperation with Serbia, about things that can add strength to our infrastructure, our ports, our railways in both countries, and generally to our economies and our security. There are specific projects in infrastructure development and also in recovery — primarily in Ukraine — that we can implement together. This will be substantial in terms of preserving and creating new and decent jobs in Ukraine and Serbia.
We also talked about cooperation in food security. No matter what happens, people must be given all opportunities to live. We also talked about the challenges of this winter for Ukraine, when we practically have no intact thermal power plant left due to Russian strikes, when Russian missiles are aimed precisely at making life unbearable for Ukrainians. All our cooperation projects with partners in the energy sector are of great importance. It is important that there are ways to strengthen energy cooperation between our countries.
Our teams need to work well to accelerate the agreement on a free trade zone between Ukraine and Serbia. These negotiations are moving forward, which is positive, and it would be good to prepare everything by the end of this year for concluding a free trade agreement between Ukraine and Serbia.
We discussed relations with the European Union, and we will be glad if Serbia's path to the European Union accelerates. We all in Europe must cooperate with each other as productively as possible on the basis of mutual respect and mutually beneficial relations. It is important that every nation in Europe receives clear signals and a clear message from the EU that this nation is needed in Europe and that no one can be lost for Europe.
We also talked with the President about diplomacy, about all diplomatic perspectives that can work to end this war. It is important that everywhere in the world people know that we want — and it is true, and it is a fact — we want a dignified peace. Every opportunity must be used for peace, for guaranteed security — all available opportunities that exist in Washington, in Beijing, in the capitals of Europe, our partners in the Middle East, in the Gulf, in all world capitals that have influence on the relevant processes.
One more thing — I want to thank everyone in Serbia, all the people who received Ukrainians after the start of Russia's war against Ukraine, who greeted our people with respect and attention. We will never forget your kindness to our Ukrainians. I thank all of you and thank you, Aleksandar, for the invitation, for the support, and we wish your country only peace. We understand that this is the most precious thing people have. Thank you. Slava Ukraini.
Thank you, Mr. President. We will now move on. The first question is for Ms. Olena Chernyakova from Channel... Olena, the floor is yours.
Mr. President, you mentioned the shelling that took place last night. A ballistic attack again on Kyiv and the region, as a result of which at least three people were killed, including a child born in 2022 — meaning this child has never lived in peace. The whole world knows about our need for Patriot 3 missiles. What do your partners tell you — not only European but also other world leaders — in response to the request when you ask for these Patriot 3 missiles? Is there anyone ready to give them, perhaps not now, perhaps in a month? We understand there is no alternative to these interceptors for shooting down Russian ballistic missiles, but there is another option — destroying Russia's launchers. What does Ukraine need to make the destruction of launchers more effective and more accessible, if one can say so?
Thank you very much for the opportunity. As a responsible person, I am not able to make serious assessments and assumptions about whether the war is going to be over soon or not that soon. No doubt that I believe the entire international community, including Serbia and all our people, would like to see an end of this war as soon as possible. But if you ask me, and as a political veteran, I can tell you that I am not sure about it. I am very, very much afraid that we will have another difficult winter — mainly for the people, but all the others all over the world as well.
But on the other hand, I hope — but I just hope, without any real facts behind these hopes — that this will end tomorrow. But I don't see the way how this might happen, to tell you the truth. I am sorry that I had to be very sincere and very honest, but I just wanted to add one more thing which Volodymyr has just mentioned. This free trade agreement is of utmost importance for our country with Ukraine, and we are going to work hard, and I believe we will swiftly and efficiently deliver it to our people.
On the other hand, I forgot to say that we promised to the President of Ukraine last time in Ukraine, even when we were in Odessa, that we were going to take care of one small town in Ukraine that was harshly hit by the war, and that is something we are going to do — invest heavily into that town and its people.
Absolutely, we will evaluate. I want to react immediately — this is important. Yesterday we talked about the reconstruction of our state. Not after the war, but during the war, when we need to restore so much — water supply, energy — after the strikes. The proposal to help with one town: our team already worked on it overnight, and we have already returned with a plan. I am very glad about this positive reaction from the President. Thank you to Serbia.
Now, regarding ballistics — we have been living with this from the very first days of the war. You remember this perfectly well. The first strikes, missiles of various types, and so on. In Ukraine, there was nothing at the beginning to counter ballistic missiles. This is very complex work. In what directions can this be resolved...
Well, first of all, who has anti-ballistic missiles and systems from the manufacturer — it's primarily the United States of America. Can they help? We work on this every month. Will they allocate missiles to us? Yes, we have agreements. Are these missiles enough? No. These missiles, in '26 — I've already spoken about this. I won't state a precise figure — I can't tip off the Russians, and I can't in relation to our partners. So there will be fewer of these missiles in '26. Yes, in '25 there were more. I'll tell you frankly, the monthly deliveries. Monthly deliveries. Now we'll get to how to resolve it. The second story is Europe. Who has them? The Germans have them, the Poles have them. These are the ones who can seriously help. With all due respect and gratitude to the German side, they really helped, and Poland helped too. But when we say who can give — I'll tell you frankly — other countries, we constantly work with the Nordics and with the Netherlands. They help little by little. I won't say how, or how many of these missiles. Every day I communicate with this or that European state and Middle Eastern state so that Ukraine receives additional missiles beyond the American package. We're at the level now where all our institutions need to work on this, not just the president. Everyone must work, otherwise there won't be enough missiles.
Besides European colleagues, I told you about the Middle East, and I'll tell you frankly — South Korea and Japan could also help. Have they helped us during this war with air defense? No. In accordance with their own domestic legislation, their constitution, we haven't received the appropriate help. People very often ask about Israel. We would also like to receive air defense from them. We'd be ready to buy. We don't have that opportunity yet, although we are in dialogue. The second option is our own ballistic missiles. You know that we're working on this ballistic program. And we're working with the same partners — with Germany, with the Netherlands, with Norwegian partners, with Denmark. We're working with all these countries, with Italy, the Leonardo company, to create our own European system. This is what we're working on. The leadership here is with the Ukrainian company FirePoint. I'm naming it because all this is already public enough information. From the private sector, we have companies capable of doing this. They work on ballistic and anti-ballistic missiles. One private company — you know it, I just named it. It needs to be supported. They are the ones doing this and no one else. And one state company — I can't name the state company. I mentioned FirePoint because they themselves put out this public information. Well, it's already too late to talk about the fact that strikes will be coming at them because of this. But nevertheless, what exists exists. These companies are working and everything must be done so they are not destroyed by the enemy. This is our own ballistic program. And we also have programs with Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, American companies, where we'll be working on another project. It's too early to say anything. If it's successful, we'll be covering our sky.
Besides combat objectives regarding work inside Russia — regarding their corresponding systems, the places that launch missiles at us — well, that's a separate task for separate services. Undoubtedly, we are working on this.
Thanks. Next question from Frankfurt — Michel Martins. Michel, go ahead.
Thank you. I'm stepping aside in order not to disturb the cameraman. Question to President Vucic. You have both mentioned the European Union in your summaries of your talks. You have been earlier this year arguing together with the prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama, that the European Union should allow those countries that qualify for it to become members of the single market not as a substitution but as an interim step on the path to full membership. Have you discussed this also with your Ukrainian partners and could you give us a general picture of where we stand here in this debate? And a short question to the president of Ukraine, Zelensky. You have touched it partly already, but can you tell us Europeans what can we concretely do to help you to kill more Russians, more Russian soldiers?
In Serbian? In Serbian? [clearing throat] We talked about this war, and currently... What will happen when the work is finished — that's another matter. As for killing, I hope that the killing will stop. But to answer what was, I would say, the dominant topic for us in last night's conversations. We talked for a long time. I presented our position to President Zelensky, and I fully understand Ukraine's position on this matter. Ukraine wants to open all clusters as quickly as possible. Ukraine wants quick membership in the European Union. I told President Zelensky that I understand all of that, and that I understand, of course, that kind of enthusiasm, but that as the president of Serbia and as someone who is a political veteran, I don't see at this moment the possibility — first of all for Serbia. I wasn't talking about Ukraine — so first of all for Serbia to soon become a member of the European Union, for numerous political reasons. I completely stand by what I wrote together with the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama. I think that for our region, too, it would be important and good. I told President Zelensky that I think it would be important and good even for Ukraine, Moldova, and other — how to say — Eastern countries. And I think that's the reality. I don't believe — to be completely open — that all Europeans will be favorable even toward Ukrainian membership. As you can see, I speak about this openly. They always find someone — for us they'll find some Croats, Bulgarians, Dutch, anyone. For Ukrainians, they'll find others. But I don't see the real possibility for this to be implemented. Regardless, I understand President Zelensky's hopes. We wish Ukraine all the best, and as far as we're concerned, we as a country will never make a problem and will never say 'first admit us, we started earlier — don't take Ukraine.' Ukraine will never have such a problem, at least with one small country like Serbia.
So as far as we're concerned, I think it's terribly important for us. I just looked at the data, respected Michael, for the first half of this year and growth rates. We're at 3.5%. The first country currently in Europe according to Eurostat — some haven't submitted their data yet. On average, the Eurozone is 0.8%, all of Europe is 1% on average. So we are first in growth rate in the first half of the year. Next year we expect a growth rate of 4.5%. We are grateful to Ukraine for coming to Expo, for participating in Expo. These are key topics for us. I spoke much more broadly than this about what exactly I think and why I think the idea of a single market is of key importance for us. I think that Ukraine has many natural treasures, has valuable people who can give a lot to Europe — so I think the same for Serbia too. But if you ask me whether I really believe that there will be unanimity in Europe about accelerating European integration — I don't believe it.
Unfortunately, it turned out that my skepticism was justified. Unfortunately, it turned out that I was right, as you know. And it's not just a question of, as they say, a merit-based concept — someone measuring whether you deserve something or not. Because, as you also know, we fulfilled four out of four conditions they gave us for opening cluster three. We fulfilled all four. The cluster isn't opened because some countries always find something to object to. I just wish Ukraine all the best, but I'm a realist, and I think that the mood in Europe and that the political crisis is so deep in certain member states, some of the most important member countries, that it will be very, very difficult to achieve anything substantial in the coming period. That's why I said we Serbs will engage, dedicate ourselves, and focus on economic growth, make as many free trade agreements as possible, and cooperate with all countries on a bilateral basis to help and further stimulate that growth. That's all I can answer. President Zelensky spoke with great enthusiasm and ambition about Ukraine's European path, and as far as I understand, he wants to open all clusters as soon as possible, considering it the greatest and most important challenge for Ukraine, not counting the armed conflicts. So on that path, we wish him and his country luck, and as far as we're concerned, we always sincerely support. You know, we also sometimes complain about where Serbia is and why Serbia hasn't gotten something. We don't have a problem with that. We understood the messages from certain member countries long ago. With all gratitude to Ursula and Antonio Costa for the enormous support they've provided to us Serbs in the previous period — for us, that's not, to be completely honest, a particularly big question. As for Ukraine, we talked for a long time. We talked for several hours last night about this — the longest topic. I really think that the market and open borders are the most important things, but I understand Ukraine's enthusiasm and ambition, and Ukraine will always have our support. Thank you.
Thank you for the question. And this is not just reality and not just enthusiasm — it's a choice. The EU is in the process of choosing this direction. And I understand Aleksandar's skepticism, which he shared with me in detail yesterday. Ukraine simply has no time for skepticism or anything else. We are at war. And in this war, we are defending our independence, our understanding of what Ukraine should be in the future. It's simply — how to put it — the path that the state chose, the people chose, the unity of the state, government and people, the unity of state institutions, the private sector, the people in the choice to be an equal, strong member of the EU. This unity makes it possible not only to move everything forward, even in areas where many different leaders told me we wouldn't get candidacy, and so on. And indeed, it was against many things. We did it and opened clusters. And yes, I fight. Sometimes it may look like almost unrealizable dreams in such a short time, but we are realizing them. I am confident in this. Yes, of course, the unity that exists in our state contributes to this. And it must not be allowed to be destroyed by anyone. And the same kind of unity in the EU — it depends on many things. Not only the war that we have in Ukraine. First of all, they have their own internal issues, there are elections, changes in the electoral landscape, and so on. So various things — and to balance, and to be confident that we will open everything or won't be able to open. Well, you know, being confident is important. I am confident that we are going the right way and we will do all of this, no matter how difficult it is for us.
As for what is needed from Europe, I truly believe that more support is needed and, with all due respect, resolution of this financial challenge. And this was highlighted positively at 90 billion. I am grateful. Aleksandar already thanked the EU Commission presidents, Ursula and Antonio, and they helped enormously. I am grateful to the leaders who, even though it wasn't easy for them, nevertheless supported and found the opportunity to support Ukraine with these funds. This is survival for us. When we talk about how to help, money is needed and the question of money needs to be resolved. It's important — all this money still needs to be directed properly, so that the use of this money is maximized in Ukraine, because Ukraine is fighting. In Ukraine, the instruments we produce for defense and for fighting are cheaper than in other countries. And therefore, you have to fight for every penny, sorry, and for every day — what we don't see, what's unknown — but I know it, I see everything and it's known to me. And this needs to be worked on. Additional money so that Ukrainian defense industry can produce twice as much, because it has the capacity. This is big money. Simply big money. It's billions. Today the president asked me, and I shared with him. We won't talk about this in the media space right now, but nevertheless, money like Russia's, which uses money for war — Ukraine doesn't have and won't have. We have what we need with European assistance, with the help of other countries. But additional money for exclusively Ukrainian production — that's what's needed.
The second story is sanctions. We're grateful for all 21 packages, but it's not enough. We're raising the issue that the most important thing for Ukraine today is to defend against ballistic missiles. But hundreds, thousands of elements in Russian ballistic missiles come from different countries around the world, from all, almost all continents, including our close partners. These elements arrive, which then strike people, our people, and children die, the civilian population, and of course, soldiers. Therefore, imposing sanctions on Russian weapons, on the supply of these elements — and first of all on Russian energy — is important, because they earn money and spend it on the war. During the war, it's important not to allow Russia to spend hundreds of billions on this war. These are important things. Next, we talk about bureaucracy. This is a serious problem. For example, sorry to go back to anti-ballistics, but I spoke with President Biden in the first year of the war. I very much asked him to give me licenses for the Patriot. I spoke with several European partners in the first year of the war, in the second year of the war, when we started using some of their Miltex, to give me a license, because the production is very small and some problems still aren't resolved. Now we've agreed with Trump that he will give licenses. But imagine, if we had received them four years ago, we would already be making Patriots for everyone, believe me, and Europe — those who want and would like to have Patriot anti-ballistic systems and missiles — everything would already be there. I am absolutely certain of this. And now we're dealing with paperwork. But what flies isn't paper, not a paper missile, but a real missile that kills people. And so if we say: 'The Americans should give, but also the Europeans — we're also resolving the question of some licenses with them for a long time. And that's true.'
Respected President of Ukraine, respected President of the Republic of Serbia, esteemed members of both delegations, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the ceremony of signing the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia and the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection on cooperation in the field of animal health and food safety. Уважаемый Президент Украины, уважаемый Президент Республики Сербия, уважаемые члены делегаций, дамы и господа, добро пожаловать на церемонию подписания меморандума о взаимопонимании между Министерством сельского хозяйства, лесного и водного хозяйства Республики Сербия и Государственной службой Украины по вопросам безопасности пищевых продуктов и защиты потребителей о сотрудничестве в области здоровья животных и безопасности пищевых продуктов.
I invite the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Mr. Dragan Glamočić, and the Ambassador of Ukraine to Belgrade, Mr. Oleksandr Aleksandrovych, to approach and sign the memorandum. Запрошуємо міністра сільського господарства, лісового господарства та водного господарства Республіки Сербія пана Драгана Гламочича та надзвичайного і повноважного посла України в Республіці Сербія пана Олександра до підписання меморандуму.
Thank you. Today's signing ceremony is concluded. I invite Mr. Aleksandar Vučić to address us. Господине председниче, изволите.
Dear President Zelenskyy, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great honor and pleasure that we can host the President of Ukraine today in Belgrade, and yesterday as well. This is the first visit of a President of Ukraine in eight years, and I am very happy that we had the opportunity to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, a friendly country, and I believe that everything we have discussed regarding the enhancement of our bilateral relations in all areas of social life will find true expression after the meetings we had yesterday and today.
We talked about various topics. What seems most important to me is that Serbia, and I as its president, have emphasized that we support the UN Charter, the UN resolution, which means the territorial integrity of all UN member states, which also means the territorial integrity of Ukraine. And so we support Ukraine in this matter and I want to thank Ukraine for supporting the territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia. As for us, we will continue to uphold this principled policy on this issue. There is no ambiguity about it whatsoever, I have stated this very precisely, clearly, and definitively.
We talked about the European path of Serbia and Ukraine. As far as Serbia is concerned, Ukraine will always have the full support of our country on its European path. We do not make any comments in which we would be blocking anyone or preventing someone from opening any cluster. We want Ukraine to open all clusters as quickly as possible and to close them as quickly as possible. That is the desire of the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian leadership, and as far as we are concerned, we have never had nor will we ever have any problem with that in the future. On the contrary, everything we can do to help Ukraine on its European path, we will do.
We have significantly raised the level of trade exchange between our countries. Last year it amounted to about 450 million US dollars. Already this year, in the first six months, it is significantly higher at about 321 million US dollars. And I believe that the most significant import product from Ukraine is iron ore. I believe that through cooperation in agriculture but also in energy and all other areas, this trade exchange can be much larger. We also talked about joint projects in infrastructure, about engaging Ukrainian companies on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, and I believe we can achieve good and very significant results in the future.
When I say this, I was truly fascinated by the railway network that Ukraine has. Recently, when I went to Kyiv, I believe we can learn much from Ukraine on this matter, from their state companies as well, and that together we can work on improving our network in Serbia. We talked about various forms and levels of humanitarian aid. So, about everything we have done so far, you can always do more, and I believe our Ukrainian friends will be somewhat more satisfied in the future.
We have already allocated significant aid in medicines. I believe that we will, as far as the energy sector is concerned and the various equipment that Ukraine needs, especially for the winter period, do everything we can to truly help. I also want to say that I am grateful to the Ukrainian president for the support he always gives Serbia on its European path. And I must say for the citizens of Serbia, you have never heard a single bad word about our country from Volodymyr Zelenskyy or from anyone else. I am extremely grateful to our Ukrainian friends for that.
I believe that in the coming period, in mining and energy, and especially in agriculture, we can achieve significant results. For us, it is important not only when we import iron ore but also commercial soybeans and soybean meal and flaxseed, or when we export fruit saplings, sunflower seeds, children's food, that we raise that level of cooperation to as high a level as possible. And lastly, I can say that I expressed the hope that after the end of the war, I believe our cooperation will be much stronger and greater. And on the foreign policy front, we can jointly export certain things and appear on third markets, particularly on the African and Asian continents.
I believe that important conversations await us in the future, on which we can additionally agree on such forms of cooperation. We had a long conversation last night. Today we had a very good conversation. I am grateful to President Zelenskyy for visiting Serbia. I hope we were good hosts, and I wish to believe that our future meetings will be incomparably better than they are today. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. President. I invite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address us. Mr. President, the floor is yours.
Thank you very much, Mr. President. Dear journalists, Oleksandr, your team, and dear Serbia. I want to thank you for your respect for us, for Ukraine, for the respect and hospitality, for the support of our people, above all, the support of our state, our independence, and territorial integrity. We value this very much. The situation in Ukraine is difficult. There was another missile attack at night. Ballistic missiles against our infrastructure. There were also attack drones, including Shahed drones, again against our energy facilities, our railways. Trains are delayed across the country, and there were strikes against civilian enterprises. The liquidation of the aftermath of the strikes is still ongoing.
In the morning I had a report. Shelling also occurred in all frontline communities. Unfortunately, 13 people were killed in these strikes on Ukraine in just 24 hours, from 9 AM yesterday to 9 AM today. And this is indeed a terrible tragedy, the tragedy of Russian aggression against independent Ukraine. My condolences to all their families and loved ones. 77 people were wounded in our regions. 12 regions were under attack. Factually every night, every day. We have been in Ukraine forced to go through all these strikes for the fifth year now. Russian strikes are directed mostly at objects that serve the life of the people. We practically have no undamaged power stations left, many stations, destroyed hospitals, universities, ordinary civilian enterprises.
At a time of war, we value and are very grateful for all the support Ukraine receives from other countries, from other peoples. And, of course, we develop all formats of interaction that can give our people, our cities, our communities more resilience, more ability to withstand all the challenges of war. We are grateful that there will be a new package of humanitarian support from Serbia for Ukraine, particularly in the field of medicine, in the field of energy. This is very important for us. Thank you, Mr. President.
Yesterday evening and today, the President and I talked about our bilateral cooperation with Serbia, about things that can add strength to our infrastructure, our ports, our railways in both countries, in general to our economies and our security. There are concrete projects in infrastructure development and also in recovery, primarily in Ukraine, that we can implement together. This will be significant from the point of view of preserving and creating new and decent jobs in Ukraine and in Serbia.
We also talked about cooperation in food security. Whatever happens, we must give people all opportunities to live. We also talked about the challenges of this winter for Ukraine, when we practically have no intact thermal power station left due to Russian strikes, when Russian missiles are aimed precisely at making the life of Ukrainians unbearable. All our cooperation projects with partners in energy are of great importance. It is important that there are ways to strengthen energy cooperation between our countries. Our teams must work well to accelerate the agreement on a free trade zone between Ukraine and Serbia.
These negotiations are progressing, it is positive, and it would be good to prepare everything by the end of this year for concluding a free trade agreement between Ukraine and Serbia. We discussed relations with the European Union, and we will be glad if Serbia's path to the EU accelerates. We all in Europe must cooperate with each other as productively as possible on the basis of mutual respect, mutually beneficial relations. It is important that every nation in Europe receives clear signals and clear emotion from the EU that this nation in Europe is needed and that no one can be lost for Europe.
We also talked with Mr. President about diplomacy, about all diplomatic perspectives that can work to end this war. It is important that everywhere in the world they know that we want, and this is true and this is a fact, we want a dignified peace, that every possible opportunity be used for peace, for guaranteed security, all available possibilities that exist in Washington, in Beijing, in the capitals of Europe, our partners in the Middle East, in the Gulf, in all capitals of the world that have influence on the relevant processes.
One more thing. I want to thank everyone in Serbia, all the people who accepted Ukrainians after the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine, who met our people with respect and with care. We will never forget your kindness to our Ukrainians. I thank all of you and I thank you, Oleksandr, for the invitation, for the support, and we wish your country only peace. We understand that this is the most precious thing that people have. Thank you. Slava Ukraini.
Thank you, Mr. President. We will move on to questions. The first question goes to Ms. Olena Chernyakova. Olena, the floor is yours.
And, Mr. President, you mentioned the shelling that took place tonight. A ballistic attack again on Kyiv and the region, as a result of which at least three people were killed. Among them a boy born in 2022, meaning a child who has never lived in a peaceful Ukraine. The whole world knows about our need for Patriot 3 missiles. What do your partners say, not only European but also other world leaders, in response to the request when you ask for these Patriot 3 missiles? Is there someone who is ready to provide them, perhaps not now, perhaps in a month? We understand that there is no alternative to these interceptors for shooting down Russian ballistic missiles. But there is another option, which is the destruction of Russia's launchers. What does Ukraine need to make the destruction of launchers more effective and more accessible, if I may say so? Thank you very much for the opportunity.
