Ukraine wants peace but won't just give in, says Zelensky

Ukraine wants peace but will not just give in ⁠to Russia at any price, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said in a defiant speech marking Independence Day celebrations.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and European Council President Antonio Costa were among foreign leaders and dignitaries who arrived in Kyiv for events on the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's break from the Soviet Union.

Mr Burnham was scheduled to co-chair a meeting of the "Coalition of the Willing" - a group of countries backing Ukraine - during his first visit to the Ukrainian capital as prime minister.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will attend the meeting remotely. He said that he is "pleased to join fellow leaders for a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing".

"Throughout our Presidency of the EU we will continue to advance Ukraine's path to EU accession, increase pressure on Russia through robust sanctions, build consensus to ensure that Ukraine has the support it needs and work towards achieving a just and lasting peace for the people of Ukraine, the Taoiseach added.

"Ukraine absolutely wants peace, but it's not ready to simply surrender," Mr Zelensky said in a video posted on Telegram showing him standing in a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt in the square in front of the ‌golden-domed St Michael's monastery in Kyiv where burned-out ⁠Russian tanks are on show.

He said Russia's demand - repeatedly rejected by Ukraine - that Kyiv cede the remaining part of the eastern Donbas area that is not in Russian hands after four-and-a-half years of war would not be enough to stop Russian aggression.

"We will not let them (Russians) seize the initiative, deceive Europe and the entire world into thinking that we simply need to give up Donbas and everything will be over soon," he said.

Hundreds of ‌thousands of people have been killed, and swathes of Ukrainian territory have been laid waste, since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022.

US-led peace talks to bring a lasting ⁠end to the war stalled earlier this year as Ukraine refused Russia's demands to cede more territory, and fighting rages along ‌a 1,200km frontline.

Russia's advances on the battlefield have slowed this year and Ukraine has ⁠recaptured some land ‌in the southeast. However, Moscow's forces are threatening the strategic eastern city of Kostiantynivka in the eastern region of Donetsk - which forms part of Donbas, together with the Luhansk region.

Exploiting Ukraine's critical shortage of anti-ballistic missiles, Russia has also stepped up its campaign of air strikes at cities far from the front ⁠line this summer.

Ukraine has also increased its long-range attacks on Russian refineries and logistics infrastructure, aimed at undermining Moscow's war effort.

Paying tribute to the ⁠people and soldiers defending Ukrainein the war, Mr Zelensky also called on allies to give it "everything" needed to stop the war.

Urging them to bring Russia to the negotiating table and hit it with more sanctions, Mr Zelensky said he hoped that "all the contradictions and fears" the United States has regarding Russia will disappear.

"China must no longer remain silent," he added.

Other dignitaries present for the celebrations included Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden, Moldova's President Maia Sandu and Estonia's President Alar Karis, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X, ‌posting photos of the officials arriving at the Kyiv station.

Escalating Russian strikes have pushed civilian deaths to their highest levels since the first months of Russia's 2022 invasion.

After almost every attack - which sees tens of thousands hunker in the Kyiv metro system and many more in basements and other shelters across the city - Mr Zelensky has issued public pleas for more air-defence support.

Ahead of the talks, the EU said that it had released another €6.1 billion in military aid for Ukraine to boost its air defences.

"On Ukraine's Independence Day, we show our unfaltering support. Today, we approved EUR6.1 billion for the air and missile defence systems, missiles, ammunition and radars that Ukraine urgently needs," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on X.

"With 376 missile strikes recorded in July alone, reinforcing Ukraine's defences has become increasingly urgent," the EU commission said in a separate statement.

The finance is part of a €90bn loan, including €60bn in military aid, that the EU has said will go to Ukraine. Some €16bn has already been allocated and €8.5bn sent to Kyiv.

Ukraine is desperate to secure more missile interceptors, particularly Patriot air defence systems, to fight off Russian attacks on its cities.

Ahead of the meeting, Ukraine has forged ahead with its campaign against Russia's logistics sites, hitting multiple warehouses belonging to e-commerce giant Ozon.

Ozon reported fires early this morning at its warehouses in Krasnodar and Makhachkala, both in southern Russia, adding that sites in Adygeysk and Nevinnomyssk were evacuated due to threats of drone attack.

Russian authorities also said debris from a Ukrainian drone attack killed two children and wounded nine others.

Ukraine's missile shortfall

Ahead of the meeting of the "Coalition of the Willing", Mr Zelensky revealed the extent of the deficit, releasing usually closely guarded numbers.

He said deliveries of crucial Patriot interceptors had halved since 2023.

"Over the entire of 2023, Ukraine received 675 missiles, and over all of 2025 - 364, even though Russian missile strikes have increased," Mr Zelensky said.

"For 2026, as currently projected, it is 264," he added, saying Ukraine was seeking a package of at least 300 for the upcoming winter.

The United States faces its own shortfall of the missiles during its war on Iran and has resisted releasing large numbers to Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky said Russia could produce around 100 ballistic missiles a month.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has accelerated its own campaign of long-range strikes on Russian energy and logistics sites - including oil refineries and retail warehouses.

The Coalition of the Willing is a Franco-British initiative to deliver support to Ukraine and ramp up pressure on Russia.

Originally designed as a group of countries that would be willing to deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event a ceasefire was reached, it has become a parallel forum for marshalling support to Ukraine as uncertainty persists over US commitments under Donald Trump.

Read more: Russia goes to the polls next month - is Putin concerned?