President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants peace but “is not ready to simply surrender” in an address Monday marking the country’s 35 years of independence.
The UK and France pledged stronger military support for Kyiv, including faster deliveries of air defense weapons amid Russia’s escalating ballistic missile attacks.
While Kyiv still holds the battlefield momentum, the country has been roiled by a drip-drip series of political controversies: Zelenskyy fired popular defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov in July, sparking mass protests, and on Sunday rejected Fedorov’s call for wartime elections, saying they would “destroy” Ukraine.
Meanwhile, officials are growing anxious that Kyiv’s powerful anti-corruption bodies have “become a law unto themselves, deciding when and how to destabilize the government,” The Economist reported.