Zelenskyy on Independence Day: Ukraine will not trade Donbas for promises of peace

Zelenskyy said Kyiv had no illusions about Moscow’s intentions and warned against allowing Russia to convince Ukraine’s partners that territorial concessions would bring peace.

“We will not let them seize the initiative or deceive Europe and the world into believing that all we need to do is give up the Donbas and everything will quickly end,” he said. “There are no illusions. There is no trust in them. Ukraine is different now, and it does not give away what is its own.”

The president said Russia “does not want peace — it wants mobilization,” arguing that Ukraine must respond by continuing to strengthen its military and defense industry.

He pointed in particular to Ukraine’s growing long-range strike capabilities, including domestically produced missiles and drones.

“Thousands of our deep strikes have already been seen by Moscow, Tuapse, Tula, Ryazan, Olenya, Omsk and dozens of other places reached by Ukrainian justice,” Zelenskyy said.

He also singled out Ukraine’s Flamingo long-range cruise missile, saying it should become a weapon used at scale.

“Flamingos should not be a rare species, but a mass-produced bird,” Zelenskyy said. “They should spend the winter in Russia.”

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine must continue developing answers to Russia’s ballistic missile attacks, pointing to the country’s ability to adapt to previous changes in Russian aerial warfare.

“Ukraine has proved more than once: their calibers are no match for our stubbornness,” he said.