I am outraged by the attack on Kyiv, also hitting our EU office. This was the deadliest drone and missile attack on the capital since July. As you can see behind me on the screen, it was an attack also on our Delegation. I just spoke with our deputy ambassador and am relieved that none of our staff were harmed.

Last nights attack struck in close proximity of the diplomatic mission, the representation of our Union. Two missiles hit in a distance of 50 metres of the Delegation within 20 seconds. This is another grim reminder of what is at stake. It shows that the Kremlin will stop at nothing to terrorise Ukraine, blindly killing civilians – men, women and children and even targeting the European Union.

This is why we are keeping maximum pressure on Russia. That means tightening our sanction regime. We will come forward soon with our 19th package of hard-biting sanctions. In parallel, we are advancing the work on the Russian frozen assets to contribute to Ukraines defence and reconstruction. And of course we are ensuring strong, unwavering support to Ukraine, our neighbour, partner, friend, and future Member.

Tomorrow I will travel to the seven Member States that are strengthening and protecting our external borders with Russia and Belarus. I want to express the EUs full solidarity with them and share the progress we are making in building a strong European defence industry, especially through our joint defence instrument SAFE.

Finally, I want to thank our brave staff in the EU delegation in Ukraine. They are doing outstanding work under extremely difficult conditions. I will deliver this message to them in person when I next travel to Kyiv.