This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy celebrated Ukraine’s Independence Day by saying his country will “not lose” its fight against Moscow amid new battlefield advances and high-stakes diplomacy around ending the more than three-year war.
“Ukraine hasn’t won yet, but it will most definitely not lose,” Zelenskyy said in a video address posted on August 24 before speaking at a ceremony in central Kyiv. “Ukraine is not a victim; it is a fighter.”
The Ukrainian president added that despite parts of the country being currently occupied by Russian forces, there is “one Ukraine” and “we shall be together again as one family.” Zelenskyy referenced fraught diplomacy with Russia amid renewed calls from US President Donald Trump to push for peace talks that could bring up an end to the war.
“[Ukraine] will never again accept the humiliation of what the Russians say is a ‘compromise,'” he said. “We need a just peace in which our future will be ours to decide.”
The speech from Zelenskyy comes as Kyiv is celebrating its 34th anniversary since the country declared independence from the Soviet Union and now finds itself navigating a new reality on and off the battlefield.
There has also been intense diplomacy this month around ending the war, including a high-profile summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Despite both leaders claiming the meeting to be a success, it has not resulted in any breakthroughs or a follow-up summit involving Zelenskyy or other allied leaders.
Canada’s Carney Arrives In Kyiv
As a show of support, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney touched down in Kyiv on August 24 for his first official visit to Ukraine since being elected in April.
Carney met with with Zelenskyy and the two leaders discussed a commitment of 2 billion Canadian dollars ($1.44 billion) for military aid, as well as joint opportunities for producing defense equipment.
“We know that Putin can never be trusted,” Carney said in his speech on Kyiv’s St. Sophia Square. “We know that true peace and security will require security guarantees for Ukraine.”
In his speech, Carney said more than $720 million will be used to finance ammunition — along with drone and armored behicle production — with Canadian suppliers.
Norway also announced on August 24 that it would contribute $693 million worth of air defense systems to Ukraine.
US envoy Keith Kellogg was in attendance at the Independence Day celebrations in Kyiv, where he was awarded Ukraine’s Order of Merit by Zelenskyy. Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson was also given the same honor at the ceremony.
Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy posted a congratulatory note from Trump on his social media, where the US president praised Ukraine’s “unbreakable spirit” as the country celebrates its independence.
Since the summit in Alaska, Trump has grown publicly frustrated over the lack of a peace deal, saying he is considering either hitting Russia with further economic sanctions or walking away from peace talks.
He offered a fresh two-week deadline at the White House on August 22 for Kyiv and Moscow to move forward with a peace process or face possible US retaliation.
“I think I’ll know the attitude of Russian, and frankly Ukraine,” Trump said. “Then we’ll make a decision about what we’re going to do.”
If steps toward ending the war are not been taken by then, Trump said he could enact “massive sanctions” or “massive tariffs” or he might do nothing and “say it’s your fight.”
Uncertain Future For Peace Talks
Whether peace talks advance could also be affected by events on the battlefield.
Russia said on August 23 that its forces in eastern Ukraine seized two villages in the Donetsk region and claimed to take another on August 24. Ukraine’s military said its forces had recaptured a settlement on the western edge of the Dnipropetrovsk region on August 23.
Moscow also announced it had put out a fire at a nuclear plant in its western Kursk region after Russian air defenses claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian drone.
Zelenskyy and European governments have continued to call for a cease-fire, something Moscow has resisted.
The prospect of Ukraine conceding territory to Russia as part of a peace deal has also been called for by Moscow and also raised by Trump as a possibility.
The Ukrainian president has also accused the Kremlin of “doing everything it can” to prevent a meeting with Putin to try to end the war, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western countries of trying to “block” peace negotiations.
“They’re just looking for a pretext to block negotiations,” Lavrov said in an interview with state TV station Rossiya on August 24.
Lavrov had said earlier this week that “no meeting” between Zelenskyy and Putin was planned.
