Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday delivered a powerful Independence Day address, declaring that Kyiv will keep defending its freedom “while its calls for peace are not heard,” the BBC reported. Insisting that Ukrainians “need a just peace, a peace where our future will be decided only by us,” Zelenskyy reminded the country that “Ukraine has not yet won, but it has certainly not lost.”
A Nuclear Incident Casts a Shadow
His speech followed reports from Russia accusing Ukraine of a drone strike on the Kursk nuclear power plant, which sparked a fire at a transformer but left no injuries or radiation leak, The Associated Press reported, citing the plant’s press service.
Reacting to reports of the fire, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stressed that “every nuclear facility must be protected at all times.”
Captive Soldiers Return Home
Meanwhile, in a separate but related development that signalled mood shifing toward reconciliation, Russia confirmed a prisoner swap with 146 soldiers on each side reported exchanged, along with eight people from Russia’s Kursk region returned to their homes, according to AP.
Canada Shows Up, Speaks Out
In Kyiv, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made a surprise appearance at St. Sophia’s Cathedral, stating, “Canada will always stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine.”
Carney announced that over CAD one billion in military aid — primarily drones, ammunition, and armored vehicles — would arrive as early as September.
US envoy Keith Kellogg, who was also in attendance, received the Ukrainian Order of Merit from President Zelenskyy.
“We are going to make this work,” Kellogg told the Ukrainian president as the latter bestowed him with state honour, Politico reported.
Global Support Continues to Flow In
Norway, for its part, has pleded about seven billion kroner (around $695 million) in air defense systems in collaboration with Germany on funding Patriot missile systems and radar, per AP. Reports suggest Sweden and Ukraine also agreed to a joint defense-production plan under which Ukraine will share technology for fabrication in Sweden, and defense materials made there will be exported back.
Fighting Pressures and Diplomatic Fault Lines
Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have seized two more villages in the Donetsk region, further pressuring Ukraine’s position on the ground. Simultaneously, diplomacy continued in the background: a US summit in Washington involving Trump, Zelenskyy, and European leaders floated a “NATO-style” security guarantee for Ukraine, though Moscow’s demands appear to be a major roadblock.
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