Ukraine wants peace but will not just give in to Russia at any price, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a defiant speech on Monday.

Mr Zelenskyy said this as foreign leaders gathered in Kyiv to mark its Independence Day celebrations.

British Prime Minister Andy ‌Burnham and European Council President Antonio Costa were among the foreign dignitaries present for celebrations of the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s break from the Soviet Union.

Mr Burnham, making his first visit to the Ukrainian capital as prime minister, was due to announce British support to help Kyiv boost its domestic production of long-range missiles.

He was also scheduled to co-chair a virtual meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing,” a group of countries backing Ukraine, with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The leaders were expected to discuss Ukraine’s request for more air defence systems to stop Russian ballistic missiles pounding Ukrainian cities.

Wearing a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt, Mr Zelenskiy thanked several foreign leaders ⁠for travelling to Kyiv to show their support.

He vowed to find a solution to what he called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “ballistic terror”.

“Ukraine absolutely wants peace, but it is not ready to simply surrender,” Mr Zelenskiy said in his video address posted on Telegram, which showed him standing in front of the golden-domed St. Michael’s monastery.

Mr Zelenskiy said that Russia’s demand—which Ukraine rejected—that Kyiv cede the remaining part of the eastern Donbas area is not enough to stop Russian aggression after four and a half years of war.

“Ukraine is different, and it does not give away what is its own,” he said.

 (Reuters/NAN)