Ukraine wants peace but won't give in, Zelenskyy says on Independence Day

KYIV — Ukraine desires peace but will not capitulate to Russia under any circumstances, stated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday during Independence Day commemorations. Among the foreign dignitaries attending the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's separation from the Soviet Union were British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and European Council President Antonio Costa.

Burnham was set to co-chair a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, an alliance of countries supporting Ukraine, on the same day during his inaugural visit to the Ukrainian capital as prime minister.

Zelenskyy declared in a video posted on Telegram, while standing in a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt in front of the St Michael's monastery in Kyiv, "Ukraine absolutely wants peace, but it is not prepared to simply surrender." He emphasized that Russia's demand, which Ukraine has consistently rejected, for Kyiv to relinquish the remaining portion of the eastern Donbas region, not currently under Russian control, after four and a half years of conflict, would not be accepted.