Ukraine celebrated 35 years of independence on 24 August, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the day with an address listing what the invasion has cost Russia, published by the President's Office. He said Putin is mortal and out of time to understand Ukraine, and said Ukraine will not hand over Donbas or save the Kremlin half a million soldiers. He also asked partners for sanctions and weapons strong enough to force an end to the war.

Russia has been invading Ukraine since 2014 and fighting a full-scale war on it since 2022, and Ukraine now supplies a growing share of the missiles and drones it fights back with, while the air defense shielding its cities still hangs on decisions taken in Washington and European capitals—which is what makes a holiday speech a statement of what Kyiv will not trade and what it needs built or delivered next.

The losses he read back to Moscow

President Zelenskyy turned from his own citizens to Russia partway through the speech. 

"You wanted to take all our Ukraine, all our land; instead, you lost your oil refineries, your fleet, your profits, your entire generation that you sent into the meat grinder," he said. 

A country that wanted Ukraine erased from the map, he added, is now absent from the international agenda of the future civilization.

He set Moscow's self-image against its filling stations. 

"For 27 years, the head of Russia has talked about greatness, while Russia is standing in lines for gasoline," Zelenskyy said. 

Moscow and St. Petersburg brought back gasoline rationing this month, and Rosneft capped fills at every station in the country.

On the Russian leader he was blunt. 

"Putin hopes that we are tired. But we know that he is mortal," he said, adding that Putin never understood Ukraine and now will not have the time to.

A fifth Independence Day at war

Before the holiday, Russian ballistic missiles hit Kyiv and its main airport hub twice in 24 hours. A solution to Russian ballistic terror must be found, Zelenskyy said, and that gamble must not pay off. 

Russia does not want peace, it wants mobilization, the president said. Ukraine will not let Moscow seize the initiative or convince Europe that surrendering Donbas ends the war. Russia keeps pushing back the dates for taking all of Donetsk Oblast and will keep pushing them back, he said.

The president called Ukraine's defense industry a giant that forges independence around the clock, and demanded more from it. Mid-range strikes cut Russian logistics and long-range weapons cut Russian profits, he said, listing Moscow, Tuapse, Tula, Ryazan, Olenya, and Omsk among the places already hit. 

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Ukraine's home-built Flamingo cruise missiles should stop being a rare species and arrive en masse: "They must 'winter' in Russia," Zelenskyy noted. 

Previously, Flamingos have hit defense plants more than 1,000 km from the border, though they still appear in strikes in small numbers.

"China should no longer remain silent"

Ukraine is not asking anyone to fight for it, the president said — only for everything needed to stop the war before Putin starts the next one. He wants sanctions that make Russians howl and Moscow at a negotiating table, and said Washington has lost its illusions about Russian intentions. Europe must be Europe, he said: united, ambitious, brave. 

"China should no longer remain silent," he added, saying Beijing must cool the ardor of someone who puts on a sailor's uniform and cap and talks about a nuclear strike—a description that fits Putin.

Ukrainians and supporters will form human chains in cities abroad at 19:00 (7 p.m.) on 24 August 2026 to mark Independence Day, Ukraine’s Mission to the European Union announced on 20 August.

Russia’s invasion has driven more than 5.6 million Ukrainians to seek refugee or other international protection abroad, according to the UN Refugee Agency. The human chains will help displaced Ukrainians and established diaspora communities show that Ukraine still needs their host countries’ support, the organizers say. Participants follow in the footsteps of Ukrainians in the Soviet era who formed human chains to demonstrate their desire for independence.

The 2026 Chain of Unity campaign website listed 55,600 participants on 22 August. Ukrainians and their supporters will gather on central streets and squares in Warsaw, London, Berlin, Rome, Toronto, New York, and other cities, where they will hold hands in local chains.

An interactive map allows people to find, join, or organize a local chain. Ukraine’s Cultural and Foreign Ministries support the action, which is being held only outside the country.

Ukrainians abroad will use Independence Day in other ways to draw attention to Ukraine’s wartime needs. Ukrainian community groups have organized rallies in 11 cities across 10 countries, calling on European governments to use Russian central bank reserves frozen under sanctions to fund Ukraine.

Why human chains still matter to Ukraine

Human chains became a powerful symbol of Ukrainian unity as Soviet rule weakened and the independence movement moved into the open.

On 21 January 1990, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians formed the nearly 700-kilometer “Ukrainian Wave” from Ivano-Frankivsk through Lviv to Kyiv. It became late-Soviet Ukraine’s largest public demonstration and helped build momentum for independence the following year.

The pro-independence People’s Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) spent five months organizing the chain. When gaps appeared, organizers bused volunteers from Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk to fill them, while participants supplied their own fuel.

The 1990 chain marked the anniversary of the 1919 union of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and Western Ukrainian People’s Republic, two Ukrainian states that emerged after World War I. By joining hands across regions while their country remained part of the Soviet Union, participants showed broad support for restoring Ukraine's sovereignty and unity.

After 1991, Ukrainians kept the tradition on Unity Day, the 22 January holiday marking that union. They often joined hands across Dnipro bridges to symbolize east-west unity. This year’s action takes the gesture abroad: refugees, established Ukrainian communities, and supporters are using it to show they remain part of one nation.

Kyiv held the 9th International Veterans Forum. The event took place ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day, with US Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul joining it, the Ukrainian Presidential Office reports.

As of 1 May 2026, more than 2 million people had veteran status. Of the 2,014,623 veterans in total, 1,471,193 had combatant status, while 159,132 had received disability status as a result of the war, according to the National Institute of Strategic Studies.

Ukrainians will decide who counts as a hero

At the forum, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the new Ukrainian Pantheon, where Ukrainians who played a significant role in shaping the national consciousness and identity will be buried.

Ukrainians themselves will decide whom to call their heroes, he said, adding that the veteran community should be involved in national commemoration policies.

The Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution establishing that the Ukrainian National Pantheon will be located on the grounds of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Preserve, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1990.

The forum brought together a veteran community of more than two million

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was founded in 1051 and was controlled by the Russian Church for centuries. After Ukraine gained independence, it was used by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate until the state began the process of returning it to the Ukrainian people.

“The Ukrainian Pantheon will definitely exist. Only Ukrainians will decide for themselves who our heroes are,” Zelenskyy stated.

He also emphasized that Ukraine’s independence rests on the shoulders of people who are ready to fight for it. According to Zelenskyy, independence is not a single moment in the country’s past.

“Each of us can name many important moments, days and battles when the fate of our state was being decided. And it is being decided now,” Zelenskyy stressed.

The Ukrainian president expressed hope that Ukraine would achieve peace and thanked the country’s defenders.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) urged Ukrainians to remain particularly vigilant ahead of Independence Day on 24 August, warning of potential Russian attacks and other security threats around the holiday.

Security threats are often heightened around major national holidays in Ukraine during the full-scale war with Russia, when large public gatherings can create opportunities for attacks and Russia has an added incentive to use symbolic dates to spread fear and disruption.

The SBU said Russia could exploit Independence Day gatherings for attacks, provocations, sabotage, cyberattacks, or other crimes.

Russia may recruit Ukrainians for sabotage

The SBU specifically warned about attempts by Russian intelligence services to recruit Ukrainians to carry out attacks inside the country.

According to the agency, Ukrainians could be offered money to set fires, damage property, plant suspicious objects, collect information about military facilities, or carry out other illegal activities.

The SBU urged people not to accept such offers and to immediately report attempts at recruitment.

It also warned that recruiters may disguise requests as ordinary tasks. People could be asked to photograph a particular location, deliver a package, or leave an object somewhere without being told the real purpose of the task.

The SBU said people should be especially cautious about requests from unknown individuals, including those claiming to represent law enforcement.

Russia has repeatedly sought to recruit Ukrainians for sabotage and other activities inside Ukraine during the full-scale war. Ukrainian authorities have previously reported cases in which people were offered money to carry out arson attacks, damage infrastructure, gather intelligence, or perform other tasks on behalf of Russian handlers.

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Warning over information that could help Russia

The agency also urged Ukrainians to avoid sharing information that could help Russia identify military targets or assess the results of its attacks.

That includes photos and videos showing the locations of Ukrainian troops, critical infrastructure, checkpoints, and air defense systems.

The SBU also told people not to publish information about the consequences of Russian strikes, Ukrainian air defense operations, or the movement of Ukrainian military personnel.

Such information can reveal the location and activity of Ukrainian forces or help Russia assess the effectiveness of its strikes.

Independence Day under wartime threats

Ukraine will mark its 35th Independence Day on 24 August, more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

The holiday comes as Russia continues to use missiles and drones to attack Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, while Ukrainian authorities remain concerned about Russian intelligence activity and sabotage inside the country.

The SBU urged Ukrainians to remain particularly vigilant before and during Independence Day and to report suspected recruitment, preparations for sabotage or terrorism, and other activity that could threaten national security.