{"id":69182,"date":"2026-08-24T23:28:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T23:28:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/69182\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T23:28:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T23:28:38","slug":"britain-france-pledge-stronger-support-as-ukraine-marks-independence-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/69182\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain, France pledge stronger support as Ukraine marks Independence Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kyiv, Ukraine
Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n

The leaders of Britain and France pledged to provide Ukraine with stronger military support \u2013 including access to classified technology and faster deliveries of air defence missiles \u2013 at a meeting of allies to mark Kyiv\u2019s independence day celebrations.<\/p>\n

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, in Kyiv on his first foreign visit since taking office last month, urged the gathering of the \u201cCoalition of the Willing\u201d to \u201cdo everything we can\u201d to bolster Ukraine\u2019s defences against Russian air strikes.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Britain\u2019s Prime Minister Andy Burnham delivers a speech next to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European Council President Antonio Costa during a commemorative ceremony marking Ukraine\u2019s 35th Independence Day outside St Sofia cathedral in Kyiv on 24th August, 2026. PICTURE: Henry Nicholls\/Pool via Reuters<\/p>\n

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had earlier praised the resilience of the Ukrainian people during more than four years of war.<\/p>\n

At the United Nations in New York, dozens of countries issued a joint statement reaffirming support for Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity and urging Russia to accept an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire.<\/p>\n

Ukraine gets tech to make storm shadow missiles
\u201cUkraine absolutely wants peace, but it is not ready to simply surrender,\u201d Zelenskiy said, adding that Russia would not halt its aggression even if Ukraine ceded to its demands for more territory in the country\u2019s east.<\/p>\n

Wearing a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt, Zelenskiy thanked foreign leaders for travelling to Kyiv to show their support on the 35th anniversary of Ukraine\u2019s break from the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

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Standing alongside Zelenskiy and European Council President Antonio Costa, Burnham said his choice of Kyiv for his first foreign visit showed the importance he attached to assisting in Ukraine\u2019s defence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are with you in this struggle all the way, heart and soul,\u201d Burnham said, vowing to continue that support \u201cdespite Russia\u2019s outrageous threats to my country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the moment to keep up the pressure on Russia. The moment to squeeze their ability to fund this illegal war,\u201d Burnham said, calling for further economic sanctions.<\/p>\n

Britain announced on Monday it would allow Kyiv access to classified technology to start its own production of Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles, capable of carrying out strikes deep within Russia. France has already given its assent to license the technology for the European missile.<\/p>\n

In response, the Kremlin said the use of classified British technology would \u201cadd fuel to the fire\u201d of their worsening relations, after it warned London last week there would be \u201cconsequences\u201d for supplying drones to Kyiv.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses Ukrainian Naval Infantry and European leaders as they attend a commemorative ceremony marking Ukraine\u2019s 35th Independence Day outside St Sofia cathedral in Kyiv on 24th August, 2026. PICTURE: Henry Nicholls\/Pool via Reuters<\/p>\n

Ukraine needs more interceptors, President says
With Russia escalating its ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, Kyiv is suffering an acute shortage of the US-made Patriot air defence interceptors \u2013 the only weapon in its arsenal capable of downing such missiles.<\/p>\n

Zelenskiy said Ukraine needed at least 300 interceptors to make it through the winter, and he appealed to allies to deliver an air defence package before Russia renews its strikes on his country\u2019s energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n

French President Emmanuel Macron, co-chairing the coalition meeting via video link, said that a string of deadly attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks had shown that allies needed to step up the deliveries of interceptors and France would do its part.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s very important that all of us accelerate in terms of delivery,\u201d Macron told the meeting, urging countries not to back down in the face of Russian intimidation. \u201cThe bottom line is, for me, very clear: keep calm and carry on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zelenskiy told the meeting that Ukraine\u2019s war effort was complicated by a $US27-billion defence funding gap this year and appealed for additional financial support. He suggested that Russia\u2019s frozen overseas assets could be used to finance the deficit.<\/p>\n

Paying tribute to Ukrainian people and soldiers defending Ukraine in the war, Zelenskiy called on allies to give it \u201ceverything\u201d needed to stop the war.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not asking you to fight for us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In a joint statement, more than 50 countries at the UN called on Russia to accept an unconditional ceasefire.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis senseless war and the immense human suffering could end immediately,\u201d the statement said. \u201cRussia simply needs to accept the unconditional ceasefire that Ukraine and the international community has been calling for for over a year and a half now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, accused Western countries of using Ukraine as a tool for exerting pressure on Moscow while falsely portraying themselves as peace advocates.<\/p>\n

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Britain\u2019s Prime Minister Andy Burnham receives the \u201cHonorary Distinction to the British People\u201d, \u201cGratitude of the Ukrainian People\u201d award from Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a commemorative ceremony marking Ukraine\u2019s 35th Independence Day outside St Sofia cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 24th August, 2026. PICTURE: Henry Nicholls\/Pool via Reuters<\/p>\n

Drone demonstration
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, and swathes of Ukrainian territory have been laid waste, since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on 24th February, 2022.<\/p>\n

US-led peace talks to bring a lasting end to the war fell apart earlier this year as Ukraine refused Russian demands to cede more territory. Fighting continues along a 1,200 kilometre front line and Ukraine has succeeded in bringing Russian advances overall to a virtual halt this year.<\/p>\n

Hovering in the sky above Kyiv, a squadron of aerial drones carried out a demonstration of Ukrainian military technology, which has helped to keep Russian forces in check.<\/p>\n

Naval drones swept along the Dnipro river, while unmanned ground vehicles \u2013 some equipped with heavy machine guns \u2013 trundled in formation along one of the city\u2019s main historical avenues.<\/p>\n

Ukraine has increased its long-range attacks on Russian refineries and logistics infrastructure, aimed at undermining Moscow\u2019s war effort.<\/p>\n

It hit four logistics hubs owned by Russia\u2019s second-largest online retailer Ozon in southern Russia in drone strikes on Monday, the company said.<\/p>\n

In a sombre moment, the Ukrainian leader rewarded fallen soldiers with state awards, which he presented to their mothers and family members.<\/p>\n

He also announced the return of 10 Ukrainian servicemen, who were previously listed as missing in action, as part of a special prisoner exchange with Russia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remember each and every one who remains in captivity,\u201d Zelenskiy said, promising to do everything possible to bring them home.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Additional reporting by YULIIA DYSA in Kyiv; and DAVID BRUNNSTROM in Washington DC, US<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kyiv, UkraineReuters The leaders of Britain and France pledged to provide Ukraine with stronger military support \u2013 including…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69183,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[30255,10155,1816,5,372,955,308,42554,42555,42556],"class_list":["post-69182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-france","tag-andy-burnham","tag-antonio-costa","tag-eu","tag-france","tag-russia","tag-uk","tag-ukraine","tag-ukraine-conflict","tag-ukrainian-independence-day","tag-volodymyr-zelenskiy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}