European leaders gathered in Kyiv on Monday as Ukraine marked 35 years of independence and its fifth Independence Day since Russia’s full-scale invasion — a milestone few expected when Russian forces advanced on the capital in February 2022.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, on his first overseas trip since taking office, joined European Council President António Costa and other senior European officials in Kyiv for celebrations and talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The leaders are also meeting as part of the Coalition of the Willing, with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz joining remotely.
Kyiv is pressing its allies for more air-defence missiles ahead of winter.
The European Union announced on Monday it would provide a fresh package of €6.1 billion in military assistance.
Speaking alongside Zelenskyy and the British prime minister António Costa paid tribute to the Ukrainian people for the “courage and bravery” that he said “inspire the world”.
“We will continue to provide as much support as necessary for as long as necessary,” he said, extending that commitment beyond the war to Ukraine’s future membership of the EU.
“International law must prevail. Russia will not prevail,” Costa said.
“The European Union cannot be neutral when international law is being violated. We are not neutral. We are Ukrainian supporters.”
Burnham compared Ukraine’s resistance against Russia to Britain’s fight against Nazi Germany, telling Ukrainians: “My nation kept the flame of European freedom alive in the 20th century, you hold that flame in the 21st.”
He also pledged to help Kyiv strengthen its air defences ahead of winter.
UK Defence Minister Luke Pollard confirmed London will share technology with Ukraine to support domestic production of the long-range SCALP missile, saying: “We will stand with them for as long as it takes.”
Notably absent from Kyiv were senior representatives of the Trump administration.
Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner did not make the trip, despite speculation that Independence Day could bring their first visit to Ukraine.
Neither has travelled to Kyiv since taking a leading role in the US administration’s diplomatic efforts, despite repeated meetings with Russian officials and eight visits by Witkoff to Moscow.
Former US vice-president Mike Pence and Keith Kellogg, Trump’s former special envoy for Ukraine, did travel to Kyiv over the weekend and attended events surrounding the anniversary.
The price of independence
In a speech marking Independence Day, Zelenskyy told Ukrainians and international leaders that 35 years ago, intelligence agencies doubted Ukraine could survive as an independent state, suggesting it would fall back under Russian influence.
“But Ukrainians restored the independence of their state, and we will definitely protect the independence of Ukraine. No doubt about it,” he said, referring to Western intelligence assessments in the run-up to Russia’s full-scale invasion that Ukraine could fall within days or weeks.
When Russian forces advanced rapidly towards Kyiv in February 2022, few expected Ukraine to withstand the assault. Six months later, Ukraine marked its first Independence Day since the start of the full-scale war.
On Monday, it marked the occasion for the fifth time.
“Ukrainians will not be cobblestones under the feet of tsars and rulers. Ukrainians will not submit. Ukrainians will not be bargaining chips in disputes between capitals. Ukrainians will not submit to what they do not believe in. And they will definitely not abandon their own dream – the dream of living independently.”
Monday’s commemorations also reflected the enormous cost of preserving independence.
Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska began the day by honouring fallen defenders before the president presented some of Ukraine’s highest state awards to servicemen and women. Families of soldiers killed defending the country received honours awarded posthumously.
There was no traditional military parade through central Kyiv. Instead, Ukraine displayed domestically produced drones and other defence technologies that have become central to its war effort.
A dangerous moment in the war
The ceremony follows a severe escalation in Russian attacks on Ukraine.
Moscow has intensified ballistic missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities, pushing civilian casualties to their highest levels since the opening months of the invasion and exposing Ukraine’s growing shortage of advanced interceptor missiles.
Zelenskyy said deliveries of Patriot interceptors had fallen significantly even as Russian missile attacks have increased.
Ukraine is seeking at least 300 additional interceptors ahead of winter, making air defence one of the central issues in Monday’s talks with its European allies.
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