Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that his country wants an end to the war with Russia, but Kyiv will not cede to Moscow’s demands for territory.
Aug. 24 is Ukraine’s Independence Day, this year marking 35 years since the country broke away from the Soviet Union.
During his speech on Monday at a ceremony outside St. Sofia cathedral in Kyiv, Zelenskyy praised the resilience of the Ukrainian people during more than four years of war with Russia.
“Ukraine absolutely wants peace, but it is not ready to simply surrender,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Moscow would not halt its military aggression, even if Kyiv agreed to its demands for more territory in the east.
Moscow has previously
that it wants to take permanent ownership of four Ukrainian regions, or oblasts, in southern and eastern Ukraine: Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia. Luhansk and Donetsk are together known as the Donbas.
Russia already annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
The ceremony was attended by foreign leaders who pledged their support for Ukraine.
Among them was President of the European Council António Costa, who said in a post on X that the European Union “has stood with Ukraine since the very first day of Russia’s war of aggression, and we will continue to stand by Ukraine’s side. Ukraine can count on us.”
Costa was one of the recipients of Ukraine’s Order of Europe awarded by Zelenskyy. The Council president said he received it on behalf of all EU leaders, who he said have supported Ukraine throughout the war.
Also present was British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who chose Ukraine as his first foreign visit after taking office last month.
“We are with you in this struggle all the way, heart and soul,” Burnham said, vowing to continue supporting Ukraine “despite Russia’s outrageous threats to my country.”
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham (L) looks at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (R) as Zelenskyy delivers a speech during a ceremony commemorating Ukraine’s 35th Independence Day, outside St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 24, 2026. Henry Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP
Downing Street said in a statement earlier on Aug. 24 that London had agreed to allow defense firm MBDA to release classified information on British components for the long-range cruise missile SCALP, so that Ukraine can establish local assembly lines.
Moscow responded by saying that the move “adds fuel to the fire.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Aug. 24 that the UK “methodically and regularly plots in order to prevent any development of the peaceful settlement process.”
“Britain is participating in this war,” Peskov said, according to Russian state news agency TASS. “It is participating in this war on the side of the Kiev regime.”
Peace Talks Stall
Earlier this year, the U.S.-led talks to bring an end to the more than four years of war stalled after Kyiv refused Moscow’s demands to cede more territory.
Fighting continues along the 750-mile front line.
Russian forces control about 20 percent of Ukraine, which includes Crimea and parts of the Donbas that Russia had seized before the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, according to an Aug. 18 war report card from Russia Matters, a project by Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
However, Ukraine’s defense minister said last month that its forces had regained 280 square miles of territory so far this year.
Ukraine has also been
its long-range drone attacks on Russian military and energy infrastructure.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a July 6 report that Ukraine’s intermediate- and long-range drone campaigns into Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory and Russia “are causing significant effects on the Russian economy and impact Russia’s ability to sustain its frontline military efforts in Ukraine.”
The ISW noted that Ukraine has intensified these campaigns, causing gasoline shortages in Russia and occupied Ukraine and affecting frontline logistics. Moscow has lost petrochemical export revenue that could have funded the war effort, it said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
